Diesel Continues to Rise, Gaining 2.3 Cents to $2.92 a Gallon

May 16, 2006 11:00 AM, EDT

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he average national price of retail diesel fuel continued to climb, rising 2.3 cents to $2.92 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported Monday.

Gasoline, meanwhile, rose 3.8 cents to $2.947 a gallon, approaching the $3 level for the first time since Hurricane Katrina last Labor Day weekend.

Gasoline set a record immediately following Katrina of $3.069 a gallon on Sept. 5. Diesel set all-time high of $3.157 on Oct. 24, following Hurricane Rita.

Diesel is now 73.1 cents higher than this time last year and has risen 47.8 cents since the first week of this year alone, according to DOE figures.

Trucking’s main fuel has risen in eight of the past nine weeks; it rose in six of the previous first 11 weeks of this year.

he price gained in all five national regions, led by a 2.9-cent bump in the Midwest to $2.87 and a 2.3-cent increase in the East Coast region, to $2.907.

The West Coast, which rose 1.2 cents, continued to have the highest regional price, at $3.192 a gallon.

California — which DOE breaks out separately — has the highest overall reported price, at $3.242, though it was the only reported decline of the week, dipping 0.2 cent.

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