For the first time in a long while, all 10 of the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s reporting regions are seeing on-highway diesel selling for at $3 or more a gallon. The last time that happened was on January 5, 2015, according to EIA records.
The national average Monday, May 14 rang up at $3.239, up 6.8 cents from last week’s $3.171.
Usually, diesel in the Gulf Coast region will be below the $3-a-gallon mark, but Monday, even the Gulf Coast was seeing $3-a-gallon diesel, $3.012 to be exact.
California is about to hit the $4-a-gallon mark, with $3.929 compared with $3.863 last week.
The 6.8-cent jump in the national average is the biggest upswing since January 1, 2015, when diesel took a 7-cent jump.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose 26 cents to settle at $70.96 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, gained $1.11, or 1.4 percent, to $78.23 a barrel in London, The Associated Press reported.
Rising oil prices have helped lift energy stocks.
Why are oil prices rising?
Readers may remember talk of an oil glut, meaning the global oil market is swimming in oil, which brought the price down.
But what goes down must go back up eventually.
Now, analysts say there has been a draw-down in oil, meaning less in storage overall.
Both the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have predicted an end of the global glut.
Oil prices have also been pushed higher by geopolitical events, from increased tensions in Syria, the threat of new sanctions on Iran to unrest in Venezuelan oil fields.
For a region-by-region look at diesel prices click here.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
