Gasoline, Diesel Prices Climb as Refineries Fall

A series of refinery shutdowns last week pushed the price of diesel fuel to $1.443 per gallon last week, while the price of gasoline soared to $1.619.

The weekly increase in the gasoline price, which was 4.8 cents, was eight times as great as the diesel increase of 0.6 cent.

Analysts cited fires and other outages at refineries from Humberside, England to Carson, Calif., for the increases, and warned that inventories of both products are so tight they are vulnerable to any disruption in production.

Paul Torstrick, vice president of Gas City, told Bloomberg that prices will stay high this summer, pointing out that the oil industry has not invested in infrastructure at the refining level.

Bob Costello, chief economist at the American Trucking Associations, said gasoline prices pose a double problem for truckers.

Many commercial trucks use gasoline and, Costello said, consumers spend more on motor fuel and less on goods that move by truck.

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