Diesel price in the US set new historical record

The national average diesel price has risen 3 cents in the last week to $5.57 a gallon.

The cost of regular unleaded gasoline rose for the fourth week in a row, up 15.3 cents from a week earlier, analysts said.The national average was up 39.1 cents from the previous month and $1.43 a gallon higher than a year ago.

AAA reports that California has the highest diesel prices in the country at $6,580 a gallon, up 22 centers from the week of May 9-15.

Wisconsin had the lowest average diesel prices of $5.121, up 9.7 cents from the previous week’s price of $5.024 a gallon. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that the average cost of a gallon of diesel fuel in the US is $5.613 per gallon, or 10 cents, from last week’s price of $5.623 per gallon.

“Those filling their tanks last week saw another jolt at the pump, as both gasoline and diesel prices continued their multi-week rally,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

“New records continued to be set on a near-daily basis as the national average edges even closer to $4.50 per gallon. Prices later this week could be closer to $5 per gallon than $4, as demand continues to edge higher and inventories of both gasoline and diesel continue to decline, temperatures warm and motorists get back outside and we near the Memorial Day weekend, the start of the summer driving season. While the increases may start to slow in the days ahead as pump prices catch up to oil, there isn’t much reason to be optimistic that we’ll see a plunge any time soon.”