Average Diesel Price at Record $2.244 After 5-Cent Rise

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he Department of Energy said Monday the national average retail price of diesel fuel rose 5 cents to $2.244 a gallon, breaking the previous record of $2.212 set on Oct. 25.

The trucking industry burns an estimated 650 million gallons of diesel fuel each week. Diesel has increased a total of 26.1 cents over the past six weeks, translating into more than $169 million in additional costs for the industry.

DOE figures also showed that diesel was 60.3 cents higher than a year earlier, meaning truckers were paying an extra $120.60 for a 200-gallon purchase at retail pumps than the same time in 2004.

DOE also said the price of retail regular gasoline rose 5.3 cents to $2.109 a gallon, breaking its previous record of $2.064 set on May 24. It was 36.6 cents higher than a year earlier.

Gasoline increased 5.7 cents a week earlier, which pushed it above $2 for the first time since Nov. 8. Trucking burns about 290 million gallons of gasoline each week.

Also Monday, the price of crude oil futures in New York fell 2 cents to close at $56.70 a barrel, Bloomberg re-ported. Oil reached a record $57.60 on March 17.

Meanwhile, the price of diesel again rose throughout the country, led by a 6.4-cent spike in California to $2.482, the highest price in the nation. The cheapest diesel in the United States was in the Gulf Coast states at $2.18, despite a 5-cent increase, DOE said.

Each week, DOE surveys 350 diesel-filling stations to compile a national snapshot price.

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