September 14, 2004 3:30 PM, EDT

Diesel Prices Rise to $1.874 a Gallon, Equaling All-Time High

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img src="/sites/default/files/images/articles/gas.gif" width=90 align=right>The national average price of diesel fuel rose by 0.5 cent a gallon to $1.874, the Department of Energy reported Monday.

The increase ended a two-week run of declines in the national average, and equaled the all-time high set on Aug. 23, DOE’s Energy Information Administration reported.

DOE also said the average retail price for regular gasoline fell 0.4 cent to $1.846 a gallon, the lowest since May 3.

The decline was the seventh in the past eight weeks. Prices were down almost 11% from a record $2.064 on May 24.

Meanwhile, the diesel increase was felt in all of the regions that EIA measures diesel prices in, with the largest price increase being seen in the Lower Atlantic states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

That area of the country has been battered by two major hurricanes in recent weeks with a third storm moving in from the Gulf of Mexico.

Only the state of California showed a decline in diesel prices EIA reported, but the state continued to boast the highest average diesel price in the country at $2.131 a gallon.

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