With tensions related to Iran driving up the price of crude oil, the price of diesel has soared 19.5 cents in the past three weeks — the most in any three-week period since exactly a year ago during unrest in North Africa and the Middle East. The average retail price of a gallon of on-highway diesel jumped 9.1 cents to $4.051 a gallon during the week ended Monday, Feb. 27, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration. The average price is now the highest since mid-May 2011 and only the second time since then that the price has topped $4 a gallon. The latest price is 33.5 cents higher than the same week last year.
Prices rose in all regions, led by a 17.3-cent jump on the West Coast (excluding California). The smallest increase was 6 cents in New England. The nation’s least expensive diesel, on average, is $3.914 a gallon in the Midwest. The Gulf Coast and the Rocky Mountain regions are the only other places where the average price remains less than $4 on average. The most expensive diesel on average is in California at $4.41.
Complete diesel price information is available on EIA’s Website.
