Both gas and diesel prices rise in new year, diesel reaches $3.56/gal
In the first full week of January 2025, the U.S. Energy Information Administration found that diesel prices have continued to increase since the week of December 23. As of January 6, the national U.S. average for on-highway diesel fuel prices is $3.561 per gallon, up 5 cents from last week and down 26 cents from this time last year.
The rest of the country followed the national average this week, with diesel prices rising from 1-7 cents depending on the region. On the lower end, prices rose 3 cents along the West Coast overall and the West Coast without California, reaching $4.147 and $3.739 respectively. California’s diesel prices went up 4 cents to $4.618 per gallon, as did the East Coast’s to $3.634. Regions with higher price increases included the Rocky Mountain and Midwest areas, where costs went up by 6 cents to $3.430 per gallon and $3.530. The Gulf Coast, though, experienced the highest price hike of 7 cents to $3.269. But this price bump wasn’t enough to unseat the Gulf Coast as the cheapest place to buy gas, while California remains the most expensive at $4.618.
As a point of comparison, the AAA motor club found that the current diesel price average is $3.511, 5 cents less expensive than the EIA’s numbers. But the AAA’s diesel prices also rose since last week, this time by 2 cents from $3.494 per gallon. At this time last year, the AAA recorded a diesel price average of $3.967, 47 cents more expensive than the current cost.
See also: As temps drop, diesel prices rise, gas hovers above $3/gal
Regarding diesel costs, the EIA also released the breakdown of diesel cost drivers for November. Assuming a retail price of $3.52 per gallon, crude oil costs still take up the lion’s share of diesel pump prices at 48%, or $1.69 per gallon of fuel. The allocations for distribution and marketing (21% or 74 cents) and taxes (17% or 60 cents) remain unchanged from their portion of diesel costs from October, but the refining costs did decrease from 15% to 14% (49 cents).
Gasoline average heads back toward $3.50/gal
As for gasoline costs this week, prices generally increased as diesel did, with a few small exceptions. The current gas price average across the U.S. is $3.047 per gallon, up 4 cents from last week and down only 2 cents from last year. Across the rest of the country, prices varied little between the week of December 30 and January 6 at a range of less than a cent up to 4 cents.
Prices went down in the New England sub-region by 1 cent to $2.966, and gas prices also fell along the West Coast without California by less than a cent to $3.399 per gallon.
For the rest of the U.S., gas prices rose by 1 cent along the Rocky Mountain region to $2.899, and the West Coast overall’s gas prices increased by 2 cents to $3.793. The East Coast’s gas costs went up 3 cents to $2.990, while the Gulf Coast’s increased 4 cents to $2.655 and California’s jumped 5 cents to $4.154. Finally, the Midwest’s gas prices increased the most at 6 cents to $2.938, leaving California as the most expensive and the Gulf Coast as the least expensive spots to buy gas.
In comparison, the AAA’s gas average is currently $3.064 per gallon, 4 cents higher than last week’s price of $3.026 but 2 cents cheaper than last year’s cost of $3.083.
