Average Diesel Price Rises 2.4 Cents to $1.641

he U.S. Department of Energy said Monday the average retail price of diesel fuel rose 2.4 cents to $1.641 per gallon.

The increase in commercial trucking's main fuel followed a 1.1-cent drop the week before. However, over the past six weeks, the price has increased 7.3 cents, leaving diesel at its highest level since $1.662 on March 24, 2003, following the U.S-led invasion of Iraq.

Last week's increase would translate into nearly $14 million more in diesel fuel expenses at retail pumps for the trucking industry. Trucking burns an estimated 576 million gallons of diesel a week.

DOE also said Monday the average price of retail gasoline rose 1.9 cents to $1.743 per gallon. Gasoline has increased in six of the past seven weeks, and is 0.4 cent below the record of $1.747 set Aug. 25.

Although the price of diesel dipped 0.6 cent along DOE's West Coast grouping of states to $1.795, it rose at least 1.9 cents in DOE's four other major geographic regions.

Meanwhile, the price of crude oil fell 97 cents to $37.11 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the biggest one-day drop since Feb. 4, on news the OPEC oil cartel may postpone a cut in production quotas that was due to start April 1, Bloomberg reported.

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