Diesel Rises 3.2¢ to $2.216; Gas Leaps 16.2¢ to $2.24
The national average price of diesel fuel rose for the first time in a month, climbing 3.1 cents to $2.216 a gallon, while gasoline pushed past diesel for the first time in almost two years, the Energy Department said Monday.
Gasoline’s average jumped 16.2 cents to $2.24 a gallon, marking the first time since July 23, 2007, in which gas has had a higher average than diesel, according to DOE figures.
The price changes left diesel $2.115 and gas $1.482 below the same week last year. The two fuels set records last July of $4.764 for diesel and $4.114 for gasoline.
Diesel had hit a four-month high of $2.229 a gallon on April 13 before declining 4.4 cents in the past month, with Monday’s gain erasing much of that decline.
Oil prices rose 10% last week, to close the week at $58.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a six-month high, Bloomberg reported.
Each week, DOE surveys about 350 diesel filling stations to compile a national snapshot average price.
