The national average retail price of a gallon of diesel increased a penny for the week ending Monday, Dec. 12 to $2.436. That’s 43 cents more than in the same week of 2004.
The average price for the week increased in every region tracked by the U.S. Department of Energy except for the Rockies, where it dropped 7 cents, and the West Coast, where it dropped 3 cents. The biggest increase, nearly 4 cents, was in the Lower Atlantic. The highest average diesel price was in New England at $2.598, the lowest in the Lower Atlantic at $2.393.
Winter cold in much of the United States has increased demand for heating oil, which in turn has increased demand on the distillates from which both heating oil and diesel fuel are manufactured. Meanwhile, crude oil prices have surpassed $60 a barrel for the sixth straight day.
For state-by-state diesel prices, updated daily, visit http://www.etrucker.com/apps/promiles/fuelprices.asp.
