Diesel edges slightly higher

The national average retail cash price for on-highway diesel rose nearly one-half cent to $3.039 during the week ended Oct. 15, the Energy Information Administration reported.

The average has been above $3 a gallon for four straight weeks, which has happened only twice before — October 2005 and August 2006 — since EIA began tracking diesel prices in the early 1990s. With crude oil prices hitting another record at more than $86 a barrel on Oct. 15, prices for coming week look to remain above $3 a gallon, which would set a new mark for consecutive weeks over that level.

For the week ended Oct. 15, average diesel prices were lowest in the Gulf Coast region at $2.941, followed by the lower Atlantic at $2.97. Elsewhere average prices were above $3, the highest being California at $3.249. West Coast average diesel prices were next highest at $3.229. New England and central Atlantic prices were close together at $3.122 and $3.125, respectively. Likewise, East Coast and Midwest averages were close at $3.023 and $3.025, respectively.