ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

U.S. retail fuel prices continued to soar into uncharted territory last week, as the average price of diesel jumped another 8.4 cents to $4.143 a gallon and gasoline gained 11.9 cents to $3.508, the Department of Energy reported.

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) has introduced legislation to lower the federal tax on diesel fuel, to make it on par with the gasoline tax.

Retail diesel surged 10.4 cents to $4.059 a gallon, the first time the national average price has crossed above $4, the Department of Energy reported. Also last week, both the U.S. gasoline average and crude oil prices set new records.

I want to know why diesel is so much more expensive than gasoline. Diesel is a byproduct of gasoline. It should be cheaper.

Nearly 90% of the biodiesel available for sale in the United States meets the established standards for quality, an improvement over past surveys but still an unacceptable situation for trucking, a new report by the Department of Energy said.

U.S. diesel prices remained at historically high levels last week, even though the official retail average dropped 0.9 cent to $3.955 a gallon, leading several trucking executives to express concern over the future of independent drivers and small fleets, and others to push for government action.