Motor Fuel Prices Set Records for Third Straight Week

iesel and gasoline again broke records Monday, both climbing more than 5 cents a gallon to new highs, the Department of Energy said.

The national average retail price of diesel fuel jumped 5.4 cents to $2.303, breaking the $2.30 mark for the first time. Gasoline leaped 6.4 cents to $2.217, DOE reported.

Before a 5-cent increase two weeks ago to a then-record $2.244 a gallon, diesel's previous record had been $2.212, set last Oct. 25.

Diesel was 65.5 cents higher than a year ago. The trucking industry burns about 650 million gallons of diesel a week, meaning the industry was paying about $425 million more this year than the same week last year.

The price increases followed rises in crude oil futures last week and Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil hit a then-record $57.60 a barrel Friday then rose even higher Monday, reaching a record $58.28 in intraday trading before receding to close at $57.01, Bloomberg reported.

DOE reported that diesel rose by at least a nickel in almost every region in the country, led by a 6.9-cent spike in the state of California to $2.581 a gallon, the nation’s highest average price.

The West Coast region was close behind, rising 5.8 cents to $2.541 a gallon. The only region rising less than 5 cents was the Rocky Mountain area, which rose 3.5 cents to $2.361.

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