The national average retail price of a gallon of diesel climbed 12.2 cents to $3.425 for the week ending Monday, Nov. 12, up from $3.303 during the previous week. The new price, which again sets the all-time high mark, was 87.3 cents higher than the same week last year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
The average price now has been above $3 for a record eight consecutive weeks. DOE’s weekly update was delayed one day because of the Veterans Day holiday.
Prices increased in all regions tracked by DOE: The West Coast region had the most expensive price at $3.608, although that region saw the smallest week-over-week increase at 10.0 cents; the second-highest price was found in the Rocky Mountain region at $3.532.
The largest week-over-week increase, 14.2 cents, was in the Central Atlantic at $3.523. The second-largest increase, 12.8 cents, was in the Gulf Coast at $3.347, but that price was the nation’s cheapest diesel by region.
Tight supply, growing demand worldwide and “heightened geopolitical risks” are sufficient to explain the high prices of diesel and gasoline, said DOE’s Energy Information Administration. Several recent events — including Hurricane Noel, a fire at a Chevron refinery in Mississippi and threats of a Turkish invasion of Kurdish Iraq — have helped drive oil to record per-barrel prices.
For state-by-state diesel prices, updated daily, click here.