Diesel Price Rises Another Cent

The average price of diesel fuel rose 1 cent per gallon to $150.1, the highest price since immediately following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Department of Energy reported in its latest survey of fueling stations released Jan. 6.

This followed a 5.1-cent increase last week, and left the price exactly 10 cents higher than it was on Dec. 16.

Diesel is the primary fuel for trucking, and increases at the pump can impact the bottom line of trucking companies.

DOE also said U.S. retail gasoline prices rose 0.3 cent last week to $144.4 per gallon. This was the fourth straight increase in the fuel that is also used by the trucking industry.

Increases were seen in each of the DOE’s five geographic regions, with the largest increase coming in the Gulf Coast at 2.5 cents. The Rocky Mountain region now boasts the cheapest diesel price at $1.46 per gallon, after a 0.9 cent jump last week, DOE said.

USA Today reported Monday the White House is facing growing pressure to tap strategic oil reserves to ease a supply crunch that has commercial stockpiles near 26-year lows and oil prices approaching two-year highs.

The run-up is mainly the result of an ongoing strike that has strangled oil production in Venezuela, which supplies 14% of U.S. imports, the article said.

In response to the strike, DOE said Monday it has deferred delivery of all 3.1 million barrels of crude oil to be repaid into the nation’s SPR in February to compensate for supplies lost, Bloomberg said.

Each week, the EIA surveys diesel prices at 350 filling stations to compile a snapshot of the national price.