By Alice Seeley
Price pressure on commercial fleets, large and small, continued this week as the nationwide average for diesel fuel increased from $5.11 to $5.16 per gallon, with the highest price in California at $6.223 a gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The price increase follows a 2.9-cent jump during the week ending April 18. This is the third-highest price in the history of the series, falling behind the $5.185 of March 28 and $5.25 on March 14. Since the beginning of 2022, diesel has increased by $1.55.
The price of diesel has decreased a little in the past weeks but has not fallen below $5 per gallon. Meanwhile, the nationwide average for the week of April 25 sits closer to the highest mark the fuel has ever reached, $5.25 per gallon, which EIA reported the week of March 14.
In March 2020, the national average price for diesel was $2.85 per gallon, which decreased to $2.40 as COVID restrictions reduced demand. By March 2021, the average gallon rose to $3.07 and $5.25 by March 2022, increasing more than 71%. Across the country, diesel is now $2.036 more than its price was a year ago.
All 10 regions in the EIA’s weekly survey of April 25 reported higher prices and six recorded increases of at least 6 cents. The fuel trended up in every single region of the country, and even in the least expensive part of the U.S, the Gulf Coast, diesel is close to reaching the $5-per-gallon mark.
Diesel is currently the most expensive on the West Coast, with a 4.6 cent increase to $5.841 per gallon. The fuel also jumped this week on the East Coast, where it rose 5.8 cents to $5.209 per gallon, and in the Rocky Mountains region, where it was up 6 cents to $5.154 per gallon.
The cheapest diesel in the U.S. is in the Gulf Coast region at $4.916 per gallon, followed by the Midwest at $4.987 per gallon. The most expensive fuel is in California at $6.277 per gallon, followed by the Central Atlantic region at $5.40 per gallon.
