Diesel Gains 3.1 Cents to $2.898; Gas Jumps 6.5 Cents to $2.934

he average national price of retail diesel fuel rose 3.1 cents from last week to $2.898 a gallon, while gasoline jumped 6.5 cents to $2.934, the Energy Department reported Monday.

The diesel upturn followed two straight declines, including last week’s 4.8-cent drop, the biggest since December.

Gasoline had also declined for two straight weeks before its jump, the biggest since a 13.1-cent hike April 24.

With the trucking industry burning 700 million gallons of diesel a week, that translates to $385 million in extra costs for the week compared with last year.

At a burn rate of 290 million gallons a week of gasoline, the industry’s expenses rose about $205 million for the week compared with last year.

Diesel’s all-time record was $3.157 a gallon set last Oct. 24, while gasoline’s was $3.069, set Sept. 5. Both records followed the big hurricanes that hit the Gulf Coast oil-producing region.

Regional diesel averages rose in three of five national regions, gaining 1 cent in the East Coast to $2.874, 2.3 cents in the Gulf Coast to $2.845 and jumping 6.8 cents in the Midwest, to $2.887.

Averages fell in the Rocky Mountains by 0.2 cent to $2.958 and West Coast by 1.2 cents to $3.056.

In California, which DOE breaks out separately from its regional prices, the price dropped 2.1 cents to $3.119 a gallon.

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