On-highway diesel prices continued to fluctuate by the smallest of amounts from week to week, rising to a national average of $3.22 as of July 30, an increase of only $0.006 from a week earlier and exactly 1 cent above where it was June 25, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The national average diesel price has teetered like an anemic seesaw for 13 weeks now, rising seven times and falling six in that span, working out to a net gain of 5 cents since May 7. The price changed by less than 3 cents in 11 of those 13 weeks.
In this past week, every region except the Rocky Mountain region experienced a small price increase, with the Midwest region having the only changed of more than a penny, rising by $0.014. The Lower Atlantic region saw a gain of $0.009. They were the only two regions that finished with a larger gain than the national average.
Diesel prices on the West Coast were at a virtual standstill, rising by $0.002. Taking away California, the rise was only $0.001.
The drop-off in the Rocky Mountain region was $0.008, leaving it at $3.361. The region’s year-to-year increase stands at $0.746, the highest outside the West Coast region, including California.
Despite a gain of $0.004, the Gulf Coast region, is for the second straight week the only region where diesel prices stand below $3. The price for a gallon of diesel there is $2.997.
Oil futures rose July 30 with the U.S. benchmark closed at $70.13, finishing above $70 for the first time since July 10. Brent crude rose 68 cents to $74.97 a barrel on London’s ICE exchange.
Click here for a complete list of average prices by region for the past three weeks.
Klint Lowry has been a journalist for over 20 years. Prior to that, he did all kinds work, including several that involved driving, though he never graduated to big rigs. He worked at newspapers in the Detroit, Tampa and Little Rock, Ark., areas before coming to The Trucker in 2017. Having experienced such constant change at home and at work, he felt a certain kinship to professional truck drivers. Because trucking is more than a career, it’s a way of life, Klint has always liked to focus on every aspect of the quality of truckers’ lives.
