Diesel Price Surges Another 4.9 Cents to Record $1.874
he average retail price for diesel fuel in the United States rose 4.9 cents to $1.874 per gallon, the fourth straight week it has set a record high, the Department of Energy said Monday.
Diesel has risen a total of 18.7 cents over the past eight weeks, and is 37.1 cents higher than a year earlier. The one-week jump was the steepest since a record 12-cent rise on Feb. 10, 2003.
The trucking industry burns an estimated 650 million gallons of diesel each week, meaning Monday's increase translates into nearly $32 million in additional diesel expenses based on retail prices from the previous week.
DOE also said Monday the average U.S. retail price for regular gasoline rose 0.9 cent to $1.884 a gallon, up from a three-month low the previous week, the U.S. Energy Department said.
The increase in the nationwide average was the first in five weeks. The retail average is up 40.6 cents this year and set a record of $2.064 on May 24.
Also Monday, the price of crude oil for October delivery fell 67 cents to $46.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg reported. The September contract fell from a record $49.40 on Friday, its last day of trading, on reports of a reduction of the violence that has disrupted supplies from inside Iraq.
Meanwhile, DOE said the average diesel price along its Gulf Coast grouping of states rose 6.8 cents, the largest increase in the nation, to $1.833. Meanwhile, a 3.2-cent jump to $2.061 along the West Coast was the smallest increase, according to DOE figures.
Each week, DOE surveys 350 diesel-filling stations to compile a national snapshot price.
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