Diesel Price Increase Slows as National Average Edges Up 0.8¢ to $2.944
Diesel’s pump price increase slowed as the fuel’s national average rose 0.8 cent to $2.944 a gallon, while gasoline’s increase also decelerated, the Department of Energy reported.
Gasoline gained 1.4 cents to $2.487 per gallon, the smallest increase of its six straight upturns, DOE said after its March 9 survey of filling stations.
The motor fuel has jumped 44 cents since January, although the price is $1.025 below the corresponding week last year, DOE said.
Diesel’s first and most recent gains in its recent string of upturns were each less than a penny.
Trucking’s main fuel is $1.077 below its level last year when it was $4.021 a gallon, the highest price of 2014.
Prior to its recent string of gains — in which it has risen 11.3 cents — diesel had declined $1.09 since June. The national average price has held under $3 since mid-January.
Oil, meanwhile, rose 39 cents to finish at $50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on March 9, Bloomberg News reported.
Crude futures have held at or near that level for the past two weeks, according to Bloomberg Nymex figures.
Each week, DOE surveys about 400 diesel filling stations and 800 gasoline stations to compile national average fuel prices.
