June 1, 2005 9:50 AM, EDT

Diesel Retail Price Gains 0.4 Cent, Rising to $2.16

Gasoline Falls Again, Dropping 2.8 Cents to $2.097

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he average price of U.S. retail diesel fuel rose 0.4 cent to $2.16 a gallon, turning around four straight weeks of declines, the Energy Department reported Tuesday.

Diesel’s average price had fallen 16 cents in the previous six weeks since hitting all-time record high of $2.316 on April 11.

Meanwhile, the average price of self-serve regular gasoline fell 2.8 cents to $2.097 a gallon, the seventh straight drop since hitting a record $2.28 on April 11, DOE reported.

Gasoline demand is at its highest from Memorial Day through Labor Day, often called the summer driving season.

This week’s diesel uptick followed a climb in crude oil prices last week.

Tuesday’s $52 a barrel closing price marked the sixth straight day in which benchmark light sweet crude oil futures prices rose on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg reported.

Diesel prices rose in three of five national regions, though they fell 2.8 cents in the Rocky Mountain region and 2.2 cents on the West Coast, DOE reported.

California, which DOE breaks out in addition to the five regions, saw its diesel price drop 0.6 cent to $2.367, the highest price nationwide.

The Midwest regional price rose the most for the week, by 1.4 cents to $2.111 a gallon, DOE said. That was the lowest average national price.

DOE surveys 350 diesel-filling stations every week to compile a national snapshot price. This week's survey was released Tuesday because of the Memorial Day holiday Monday.