Diesel Gains 2.3 Cents to Hit New Record of $2.336

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.S. retail diesel prices rose 2.3 cents to reach $2.336 a gallon, a new record high, the Department of Energy reported Monday.

The mark, which topped the previous $2.316 record set April 11, followed a recent ongoing spiral of record crude oil prices. Diesel’s reported price of $2.313 last Monday was the second-highest on record at the time.

Meanwhile, DOE reported average regular self-service gasoline prices rose 5.4 cents to $2.215 a gallon, 6.5 cents short of the $2.28 record set April 11.

Crude oil prices have reached the watershed $60 a barrel level for the past three days and Monday set a new intraday high of $60.95 before falling back to $60.54. It was the first time oil has closed above $60. (Click here for previous coverage.)

Diesel prices are now 63.6 cents higher than the same time last year, DOE reported. That translates to about $423 million more in expenses this week than the same week last year for the trucking industry, which burns about 665 million gallons of diesel a week.

Prices jumped in all of DOE’s five major geographical regions, led by a 5.2-cent rise in the Rocky Mountains to $2.288, DOE said.

West Coast prices rose 4.2 cents to $2.433, the highest regional average, while California’s prices rose 4.6 cents to $2.522 a gallon. DOE breaks out California’s price separately from its regional averages.

The East Coast and Midwest regional prices each rose 2 cents, to $2.368 and $2.314, respectively. The Gulf Coast region had the smallest rise for the week, gaining 1.4 cents to $2.288.

Each week DOE surveys 350 filling stations to compile a national snapshot retail price.