Diesel Price Soars 34.6 Cents to $3.144 a Gallon

he average price of U.S. retail diesel soared by a record 34.6 cents to $3.144 a gallon, also a record, the Department of Energy reported Monday.

The increase topped a 30.8-cent rise to a then-record $2.898 a gallon on Sept. 5, following Hurricane Katrina's landfall in the Gulf Coast region near New Orleans.

Meanwhile, the price of regular gasoline rose 12.5 cents to $2.928, below the record $3.069 a gallon that was also set in the wake of Katrina in DOE's Sept. 5 survey.

Last week there were reports of some diesel shortages around the country, including in the Atlanta area. (Click here for previous coverage.)

Diesel fuel leaped over the $3 mark in all of DOE’s five national regions, led by a 42.9-cent jump to $3.185 in the Gulf Coast region that was hit by Rita and, previously, Hurricane Katrina.

That topped even the West Coast’s average of $3.174, though California’s price — which DOE breaks out separately from its regions — was the highest price recorded at $3.262, up 23.1 cents from last week.

The East Coast’s Lower Atlantic sub-region saw its price jump 50.8 cents to $3.283. Overall the East Coast region’s price rose 39 cents to $3.198 cents.

DOE surveys 350 diesel-filling stations every week to compile a national snapshot price.