Diesel prices have risen slightly for the fourth week in a row, but the cost for a gallon is still about what it was to start the year.
The average U.S. retail pump price for diesel climbed 0.2 cents in the March 6 report by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), to $2.579 per gallon. That’s 0.7 cents cheaper than the Jan. 2 report, but 55.8 cents higher than this time last year.
Regionally, prices were mixed.
Prices on the East Coast were up 0.2 cents, the average of declines in New England (-1.2 cents to $2.633) and in the Lower Atlantic (-0.8 cents, $2.525) against a 0.8 cent gain in the Central Atlantic ($2.78).
On the West Coast, less California, diesel registered a 0.7-cent increase to $2.779 while California posted a price decline, down 0.6 cents to $2.956, the highest price in the lower 48 states.
Diesel was up 4.3 cents in the Rocky Mountains ($2.625), while the price for a gallon in the Midwest rose 0.3 cents ($2.502)
The Gulf Coast saw a drop of 0.4 cents, to $2.429—still the lowest price for a gallon in the country.
The national average price for gasoline was up 2.7 cents for the week, to $2.341. That’s 50 cents higher than last year.
