The national average for diesel rose a startling 34.6 cents to $3.144 per gallon for the week ending Oct. 3, according to the Energy Information Service. That’s nearly $1.10 higher than prices for the same week in 2004.
What’s more, every region in the country posted average prices above $3 a gallon for the first time ever.
The highest prices, for a change, were not in
The rest of the East Coast posted an average of $3.198 per gallon. New England came in at $3.012 per gallon, while the Central Atlantic was $3.040 per gallon.
The West Coast had an average of $3.174 per gallon, while the Rocky Mountain region was at $3.079 per gallon.
The Gulf Coast posted an average of $3.185 per gallon, while the Midwest was at $3.083 per gallon.
Meanwhile, prices for oil rose slightly as investors grew nervous about supplies for the winter. In midday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday, Oct. 3, prices rose to $66.33 per barrel.
Forbes reported that concern is growing that damage to oil refineries in the Gulf of Mexico from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita may hurt efforts by refineries to get ready for the winter season.
Winter is the peak season for distillate stocks – including heating oil and diesel.
The U.S. Minerals Management Service said that, as of Friday, Sept. 30, nearly 97 percent of the oil production in the Gulf region was still shut-in, or unavailable to the market.
More than half of the refining platforms and nearly a quarter of the oil drilling rigs in the Gulf were still evacuated as of Sept. 30.
Eleven refineries in Louisiana and Texas are still closed. In all, about 10 percent of the total U.S. oil production is still shut down.
