For the second straight week, diesel prices rose, climbing 0.7 cents nationally to $1.959 for the week ending Jan. 24.
Prices in the West rose the most, as much as 4.5 cents in California. Average retail prices for a gallon of diesel also rose in the New England and Central Atlantic regions.
Diesel is largely following the weather. With bitterly cold weather and blizzard conditions in the North, demand for heating oil has increased. The prices of heating oil and diesel, both distillates, are tied closely together, so when one price rises the other usually follows.
Diesel stayed unchanged in the Midwest and rose a penny along the Gulf Coast. Truckers filled up for the lowest price nationally in the Rocky Mountains, where prices averaged $1.884, up 0.7 cents for the week.
