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he average retail price of diesel fuel in the United States rose 2.4 cents per gallon to $1.619, the Department of Energy said Monday.
Diesel has increased 5.1 cents over the past three weeks, leaving it at the highest level since $1.662 on March 24. It is 13.4 cents below a year earlier, when diesel was one week away from setting its all-time record high of $1.771.
DOE also said Monday the average U.S. retail price for regular gasoline rose 2.9 cents to $1.717 per gallon. Gasoline, used by about one-third of commercial trucking, is now only 3 cents from the all-time record set on Aug. 25.
Analyst Trilby Lundberg said there were several reasons for the increases, including a rise in crude oil prices and higher refinery costs, the Associated Press reported.
The largest surge in diesel prices was reported along DOE's West Coast grouping of states. The 6.3-cent increase left its price at $1.851, while its largest state of California saw diesel increase to $1.931.
Diesel rose at least 1.3 cents in the other sections of the country, DOE said.
Each week, DOE surveys 350 diesel-filling stations to compile a national snapshot price of diesel.
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