National diesel average heads up for second straight week, reports EIA

The national diesel average, for the week of March 25, eked out a slight increase, heading up for the second week in a row, after three weeks of declines, according to data issued today by the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The weekly average, at $4.034, saw a 0.006-cent increase, following a 2.4-cent increase, to $4.028, for the week of March 18. That gain was preceded by 1.8-cent decline, to $4.004, for the week of March 11, a 3.6-cent decline, to $4.022, for the week of March 4, and a 5.1-cent decline (its largest weekly decrease in 2024), to $4.058, for the week of February 26, which followed matching $4.109 readings, for the weeks ending February 12 and February 19.  

This activity was preceded by a 21.0-cent increase, to $4.109, from the week of February 5 to February 12, which represented the largest weekly gain since the 22.2-cent increase, from $3.905 per gallon to $4.127 per gallon, from the week of July 24 to the week of July 31.

Prior to that the national average rose 3.2 cents, to $3.867, for the week of February 5, a 2.9-cent increase to $3.838, for the week of January 29, a 3.5-cent increase, to $3.863 per gallon, for the week of January 15, a 4.8-cent decrease, to $3.828, for the week of January 8, and a 3.8-cent decrease, to $3.876, for the week of January 1.

Compared to the same week a year ago, the national average was down 9.4 cents, less than the annual declines seen over the previous three weeks, at 15.7 cents, 24.3 cents, and 26.0 cents, respectively.

The average price per barrel of WTI crude is currently trading at $82.07 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, below the $82.81 reading a week ago at this time.