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November 28, 2006 1:50 PM, EST

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he national average price of diesel rose 1.4 cents to $2.567 a gallon, the Department of Energy said Monday.

The average price of gasoline, meanwhile, rose 0.7 cent to $2.246 — 9.2 cents higher than the same week in 2005.

Diesel rose in four of the five national regions and was unchanged in the Midwest at $2.554 a gallon. In California, which DOE breaks out separately, the nation’s main trucking fuel rose 2 cents to $2.710. Nationally, prices are 8.8 cents higher than a year ago.

Crude oil futures rose above $60 a barrel at the close of trading on the New York Mercantile exchange, buoyed by reports from Saudi Arabia’s oil minister that OPEC may again elect to cut production when the cartel meets next month, Bloomberg said Monday. Expectations of colder weather also helped push oil prices higher.

ach week, DOE surveys 350 diesel filling stations to compile a national snapshot average price.