Average Diesel Price Rises 0.1 Cent; Gasoline Price Sets New Record

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he average retail price of diesel fuel rose 0.1 cent to $1.642, the Department of Energy reported Monday, while the average price of regular gasoline rose 1.5 cents to a record $1.758.

The diesel increase was the sixth in the past seven weeks, but was a smaller move than in previous weeks.

Still, diesel has risen 14 cents since the end of last year, and is 4 cents higher than a year ago, when it was in a steady decline following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

Meanwhile, gasoline's increase was the seventh in the past eight weeks, pushing it higher than the previous record of $1.747 set in August. Trucking burns an estimated 269 million gallons of gasoline each week.

DOE said the price of diesel rose 2.2 cents to $1.817 along the West Coast grouping of states, and 1 cent in the Rocky Mountain region. However, the price declined in both the East Coast and Gulf Coast.

The Midwest mirrored the national average, inching up 0.1 cent to $1.616.

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