The U.S. average price at the pump for a gallon of diesel fuel spiked 12 cents in the past week to $1.662 – less than a penny from the all-time recorded high.
According to the U.S. Dept. of Energy, the average price leaped from $1.542 the previous week. The highest price previously recorded by the department's Energy Information Administration was $1.67, on October 16, 2000.
Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service, said on the company's website that the U.S. could experience weekly fuel-price swings of 10-15 cents per gal. in the next 90 days.
Spikes this high have not been seen since the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973-4, Kloza said.
Drivers in New England are paying the highest price at $1.834, a 19.1-cent spike, while drivers in the Central Atlantic are paying $1.801.
At $1.574, the Rocky Mountain region is the only one with an average less than $1.60.