Diesel Dips a Half-Cent to $4.142; Gasoline Rises Again

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Tom Biery/Trans Pixs

Diesel fell for the first time in 10 weeks, dipping half a cent to $4.142 a gallon, while gasoline rose for the 10th straight week, the Department of Energy said Monday.

Gas gained 2.3 cents to $3.941 a gallon, its 14th increase in 15 weeks, DOE said following its weekly survey of filling stations.

The diesel drop — which was just the second in the past 13 weeks — leaves trucking’s main fuel 16.6 cents over than the same week last year.

Gasoline is 25.7 cents higher than a year ago, DOE figures showed.



The only other diesel decline since early January was a 0.6-cent dip on Jan. 23. Since then, diesel has risen a cumulative 35.9 cents at the pump.

Gasoline has jumped a cumulative 71.2 cents since mid-December, falling in only one week, a 0.2-cent dip on Jan. 23.

Diesel’s record high weekly price was $4.764 a gallon, set on July 14, 2008, while gasoline’s was $4.114, set a week earlier.

Oil, meanwhile, took its biggest jump in almost six weeks on Monday, gaining $2.21 to finish the trading day at $105.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg reported.

Crude prices have generally held between $105 and $109 for the past six weeks, though Thursday’s closing price of $102.78 was the lowest since mid-February.

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