Diesel prices remain flat second straight week

Diesel prices seem to have settled over the past two weeks, with the average price for the week of April 13 climbing a negligible 0.1 cent to $2.229/gal., according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The previous week it sat at $2.228.

Only three regions in the country saw a price increase, the Rocky Mountain area rose from $2.21 to $2.25/gal. and the West Coast jumped two cents, from $2.31 to $2.33. California increased slightly as well, moving up to $2.35/gal. from $2.33. The highest region remained New England, with prices holding steady at $2.42/gal.

Last year, the average diesel price was $4.05/gal.

Over the past two weeks, according to EIA, the average price of diesel has increased just less than a penny. This follows the previous two weeks, which saw the price climb from $2.01/gal. March 16 to $2.22/gal. March 30.

Crude oil for May delivery rose more than 2% this morning to $51.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, according to Bloomberg.com. That offset some of a 4.1% decline on Monday following an International Energy Agency forecast that oil demand would slip 2.8% this year.

According to a Bloomberg story, Mary Ann Bartels, a chief U.S. market analyst at Merrill Lynch, believes crude oil will rise above $70 a barrel later this year.