The average on-highway price of diesel jumped 2.6 cents a gallon to $3.252 today, as the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a day late because of the observance of Labor Day on Monday.
Truckers fueling in the Midwest saw the largest leap — up 3.8 cents a gallon — followed by the West Coast Less California sector, up 3.6 cents a gallon, and the Gulf Coast, up 3.1 cents a gallon. That puts diesel in the EIA’s Midwest reporting region at $3.191; the West Coast Less California sector at $3.469; and the Gulf Coast at $3.035, still the cheapest diesel in the U.S., followed by $3.114 in the Lower Atlantic region.
California is poised to head into $4-a-gallon territory at $3.959, and still has the highest diesel in the country. No surprise there. The West Coast was next highest at $3.742. The Rocky Mountain sector stayed the same at $3.364.
As of 12:30 p.m. Eastern time today, 54 oil production platforms, nearly 8 percent of manned platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, have been evacuated because of a storm that is predicted to hit the area.
The National Weather Service today issued hurricane and storm surge warnings for portions of the central Gulf Coast from tropical storm Gordon, which is supposed to make landfall tonight. Gordon is expected reach minimal hurricane strength.
Meanwhile, benchmark U.S. crude today rose 0.1 percent to $69.87 a barrel in New York. Brent Crude, used to price international oils, was little changed at $78.17 a barrel in London.
Wholesale gasoline dipped 0.1 percent to $1.99 a gallon. Heating oil rose 0.5 percent to $2.25 a gallon and natural gas slumped 3.2 percent to $2.82 per 1,000 cubic feet, The Associated Press reported.
For more details on diesel prices click here.
Dorothy Cox is former assistant editor – now retired – of The Trucker, and a 20-plus-year trucking journalism veteran. She holds a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and a master’s degree in divinity. Cox has been in journalism since 1972. She has won awards for her writing in both mainstream and trucking journalism.
