Diesel Jumps to $2.407; Price is Close to All-Time High
he average price of U.S. retail diesel rose 5.9 cents to $2.407 a gallon, just 0.1 cent behind the all-time record set July 11, and gasoline prices surged to a record high, the Department of Energy reported Monday.
The national average gasoline price rose 7.7 cents to $2.368 a gallon, 4 cents over the $2.328 record also set July 11, DOE said following its weekly survey of filling stations.
While regional diesel average prices rose in all five regions surveyed, they were led by huge spikes in the West Coast and in California, which DOE breaks out separately from the national regions.
Regional gasoline price increases were led by the Midwest, up 11 cents to $2.329, and Gulf Coast, which rose a dime to $2.282, DOE said.
The national average diesel price increase was the second straight following two weeks of declines. The national average price has risen in 22 of 32 weeks this year, with the low price of $1.934 set on Jan. 10.
The national average price for trucking’s main fuel is 59.3 cents over this time last year, adding $118.60 to the cost of a 200-gallon big-rig fill-up over the same week last year.
The West Coast diesel price is 77.1 cents over last year, which would add $154.20 to a fill-up, while California’s price, 83 cents higher, would add $166 more to a trucker's bill for a fill-up this year.
The Gulf Coast region had the lowest average price, at $2.323 a gallon, up 4.4 cents from last week. The Midwest also rose 4.4 cents, to $2.336.
The East Coast diesel average rose 3 cents, the smallest weekly increase of the regions, to $2.386, and the Rocky Mountain price rose 6.5 cents to $2.486.
Each week DOE surveys 350 filling stations to compile a national snapshot retail price.
