Diesel Rises 0.2¢ to $3.333 in Sixth Straight Increase
Diesel rose for the sixth straight week though its increase slowed, gaining 0.2 cent to a national average $3.333 a gallon at the pump, the Department of Energy reported.
The increase was the sixth time in as many weeks that diesel hit its highest level since October 2008 when it was coming down from record highs over $4 that summer.
Gasoline also rose for the sixth straight week, gaining 1.9 cents to $3.089 a gallon, DOE said. Gas hit a record $4.114 in early July 2008, while diesel’s all-time high was $4.764, set a week later.
Trucking’s main fuel is now 45.4 cents higher than the same week last year, while gas is 33.8 cents more expensive, according to DOE records.
The slowing gains followed declining oil prices that last week slipped to the lowest level in three weeks. Oil finished New York Mercantile Exchange trading Friday at $88.03 a barrel, the lowest since Dec. 17.
Crude futures rose $1.22 Monday to close the Nymex trading day at $89.25 a barrel, Bloomberg reported, in part due to a pipeline closure in Alaska.
Diesel rose by less than a penny in all five main national regions except the Midwest, where it dipped 0.1 cent to $3.302 a gallon.
The New England sub-region, part of the Northeast region, saw a 2.3-cent gain to $3.45 a gallon. Prices in the Northeast often climb higher in winter due to diesel’s competition with heating oil, as both are distillate fuels.
Each week, DOE surveys about 350 diesel filling stations to compile a national snapshot average price.
