Diesel Average Inches Up 0.3 Cent to $2.621; Gas Dips 0.4 Cent

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he national average price of diesel fuel crept up 0.3 cent to $2.621 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported Monday.

The increase followed last week's 5.1-cent jump, which had been the biggest one-week gain since early August.

Gasoline's average price, meanwhile, fell 0.4 cent to $2.293 a gallon, DOE said. Gas had also risen by 5.1 cents last week.

For a second week, prices jumped sharply in DOE's West Coast region and in California, which is included in the West Coast pricing but which DOE also breaks out separately.

The West Coast price spiked 7.1 cents to $2.931, following last week's 10-cent gain, while California's leaped 10.3 cents to $2.963, following a 15-cent gain last week.

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