The national average retail price of diesel edged higher by a mere two-tenths of a cent to $3.333 during the week ended Monday, Jan. 10, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration. Diesel prices are 45.4 cents higher than they were during the same week last year and are at their highest level since late October 2008, when prices were plunging from their all-time high that summer.
Prices increased in all regions except the Midwest, where the average price of diesel dipped one-tenth of a cent. The largest jump was 2.3 cents in New England, which often sees the nation’s largest increases during winter due to the region’s relatively greater reliance on home heating oil, which competes with diesel for distillate stocks. The largest increase elsewhere was 0.9 cents in California, where prices remain the highest on average in the nation. As usual, the Gulf Coast enjoyed the nation’s lowest average prices at $3.284.
Complete diesel price information for the week ended Jan. 10 is available on the EIA’s website.
