Diesel average nears $2.50, the highest price in a year
Tracking the oil market, a gallon of diesel fuel has risen to the highest price level in more than a year.
The average U.S. retail pump price for diesel climbed 1.3 cents in the Dec. 12 report by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), to $2.493 per gallon. That’s 15.5 cents higher than this time last year and the highest price since the Nov. 9, 2015 report.
Prices were up about 2 cents on the East Coast, coming in at $2.547 in New England, $2.633 in the Central Atlantic, and $2.429 in the Lower Atlantic.
The Midwest posted a gain of 1.5 cents ($2.446), and the Gulf Coast was up a penny to $2.371—still the lowest price for a gallon of diesel in the country.
On the West Coast, less California, diesel registered a 1.1-cent increase to $2.69.
Bucking the upward trend, diesel was down a penny in the Rocky Mountains to $2.447. In California, the price slipped 0.6 cents to $2.837, the highest price in the lower 48 states.
The national average price for gasoline rose 2.8 cents for the week, to $2.236. That’s about 2 cents higher than last year.
International Brent crude futures closed at $55.69 Monday, the highest level since July 2015.