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A proposed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule designed to expand biofuel use actually has brought the biodiesel market “to a grinding halt,” because it does not allow most blends of soy oil, according to the National Biodiesel Board.

The average retail price of a gallon of diesel in the United States rose 7.5 cents last week to $2.625, the highest level this year, the Energy Department reported.

U.S. retail fuel prices continued to rise last week, as the average cost of a gallon of diesel climbed 2.2 cents to $2.55 a gallon, while gasoline jumped 5.4 cents to $2.557, the second straight week of increases, the Department of Energy reported.

The U.S. average retail diesel price rose 3.2 cents a gallon last week to $2.528, the first increase in five weeks, the Department of Energy reported.

Diesel prices have dropped almost 50% since record levels last year, but fleets continue to work on cutting fuel costs, one of their largest expenses.

U.S. retail diesel prices dropped 4.6 cents last week to $2.496 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported — the fourth straight decline — but rising crude oil costs will soon lead to a reversal of that trend, a department analyst predicted.