Diesel prices are back over $4 a gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) weekly, on-highway survey of prices at 73,000 service stations and 9,500 truck stops around the country.
Average diesel prices rose by 6.5 cents, increasing to $4.06 per gallon as of Monday, April 8. The Western states of Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington saw the highest average price increase for the period, rising 11 cents to $4.26 per gallon.
The second-highest rise was a 9-cent increase to $3.76 a gallon in the Gulf Coast region, which includes southern border states from New Mexico to Alabama.
The New England region of six states—Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont—had prices remain at around $4.31 per gallon.
The rise was contrary to the EIA’s short-term forecast. That has diesel supposedly declining to $3.92, down from last year’s $4.21. For what it’s worth, EIA has the 2025 diesel price tabbed at $3.85.
Even with these latest increases, diesel prices are about 9.4 cents below what they were a year ago. But the key to whether diesel will continue to rise depends on the price of crude oil, which last clicked over $100 a barrel back in 2022.
Geopolitical tensions, the war in the Middle East, refinery issues, and the switch to slightly more expensive summer-grade gasoline were all cited as factors in the global price of crude oil, experts opined.