Diesel Climbs 2.5¢ to $2.382

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John Sommers II for Transport Topics

The U.S. retail diesel average price jumped up 2.5 cents to $2.382, the Department of Energy said, increasing for the 14th time in 15 weeks.

However, trucking’s main fuel remained 52.7 cents cheaper than a year ago when the price was $2.909.

Diesel prices climbed in all regions, DOE said after its May 30 survey of fueling stations.

“Diesel prices, right now, are not as high as they were four to five years ago, but the fleet managers are a pretty smart bunch. They know, or they at least think they know, that fuel prices will bounce back,” said Sandeep Kar, global vice president in the automotive and transportation research group at Frost & Sullivan.



“That realization is probably one of the reasons why we’re seeing natural-gas truck sales continue to plow on and why we’re also seeing fleet interest in advanced powertrain technologies,” Kar said during a call last week that Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. hosted to discuss trends in trucking.

Also, the national average price for regular gasoline climbed 3.9 cents to $2.339 a gallon, DOE’s Energy Information Administration said.

Prices rose in all regions. The average remained 44.1 cents cheaper than a year ago, EIA said.

A week earlier, the U.S. average retail price for gasoline was $2.30 per gallon and the lowest average price just before Memorial Day weekend — the start of the summer driving season — since 2009.

Crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed May 31 at $48.97.