Diesel Continues to Climb, Rising 3.4 Cents to $2.98 a Gallon

he average national price of retail diesel fuel continued its climb, gaining 3.4 cents from last week to $2.98 a gallon, the Energy Department reported Monday.

Gasoline, meanwhile, continued its upward track as well, inching up 0.1 cent to $3.004 a gallon, DOE said following its weekly survey of filling stations.

Gas is just 6.5 cents below its all-time record set in September following Hurricane Katrina and 71.3 cents over this time last year.

Trucking’s main fuel has risen for five straight weeks, and it topped $3 a gallon in two of five national regions: the Rocky Mountains and West Coast.

The trucking industry burns about 700 million gallons of diesel a week; the price increase over the same week last year translates to about $442 million in added costs.

The industry also burns about 290 million gallons of gasoline each week; that price increase adds about $207 million to trucking’s expenses compared with last year.

Diesel rose in all regions, led by a 6.5-cent jump in the Rocky Mountain region to $3.052. The Midwest price rose 3.7 cents to $2.988.

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