The national average price per gallon of diesel gasoline headed up for the second straight week, according to data issued today by the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The national average, for the week of March 31, rose 2.5 cents, coming in at $3.592 per gallon, following a 1.8-cent increase, for the week of March 24, to $3.567. The last two weeks of gains, for a cumulative gain of 4.3 cents, were preceded by three weeks of declines, which saw the national average fall 14.8 cents over that period.
Those three weeks of declines included: a 3.3-cent decline, to $3.549, for the week of March 17, a 5.3-cent decline, to $3.582, for the week of March 10, and a 6.2-cent decline, for the week of March 3, which marked the largest weekly decline going back to the week of January 27, when it dropped 5.6 cents.
Prior to that, the national average had seen gains over a four-week period, going back to the week of February 3, for a cumulative 3.7-cent increase over that period, including a 2.0-cent gain, to $3.697, for the week of February 24, which followed a 1.2-cent gain, to $3.677, for the week of February 17, a 0.005-cent increase, to $3.665, for the week of February 10, and a 0.001-cent increase, to $3.660, for the week of February 3.
On an annual basis, the national average was down 40.4 cents, below annual declines seen over the previous two weeks, at 46.7 cents and 47.9 cents, respectively.
WTI Crude is currently trading at $71.75 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, ahead of the $69.93 reading a week ago at this time.
