Diesel Jumps 5.2 Cents to $2.617; Gasoline Soars 9 Cents

April 4, 2006 11:30 AM, EDT

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he average national retail price of diesel fuel jumped 5.2 cents to $2.617 a gallon, while gasoline soared 9 cents to $2.588, the Department of Energy said Monday.

The spikes follow modest one-week downturns last Monday, which had in turn followed big jumps two weeks ago of 3.8 cents for diesel and 13.8 cents for gasoline.

The diesel price was the highest since a $2.602 national average price Nov. 14, while gasoline had last been as high on Oct. 24, when it was $2.603 a gallon.

The increases followed big jumps in the price of crude oil in the past two weeks, as crude closed on the New York Mercantile Exchange Monday at $66.74 a barrel, up more than 10% from $60.42 two weeks ago. (Click here for related coverage.)

Diesel prices jumped in all five DOE’s regions, led by a 5.5-cent increase on the West Coast to $2.753, the most expensive.

It spiked even more in California, which DOE breaks out separately from its regions, leaping 8.5 cents to $2.812 a gallon.

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