Diesel Jumps 11.6¢ to $3.396; Oil Closes Over $100 for First Time
The national average pump price of diesel fuel jumped 11.6 cents to $3.396 a gallon, the Department of Energy said Tuesday, while crude oil closed at more than $100 a barrel for the first time ever.
Crude oil reached $100.10 a barrel in intraday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange — besting the previous record by a penny — before settling to a record closing price of $100.01, Bloomberg reported.
Oil futures had set a closing-price record $99.62 on Jan. 2, and an intraday record of $100.09 a barrel on Jan. 3.
The $4.51 spike from Friday’s Nymex closing price was attributed to a refinery explosion in Texas over the weekend and to possible impending cuts by OPEC ministers, who will meet in early March, Bloomberg said.
Gasoline, meanwhile, gained 8.2 cents to reach $3.042 a gallon, marking the first time in four weeks it has been over the $3 level, DOE said.
Diesel’s jump from last week was the biggest since a 12.2-cent increase to $3.425 on Nov. 12, according to DOE figures. The all-time record of $3.444 a gallon was set two weeks later, on Nov. 26.
DOE surveys about 350 diesel filling stations every week to compile a national snapshot average. Its survey was released Tuesday because of the President’s Day holiday on Monday.
