Diesel prices rose Monday, Sept. 26, in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita, though not as much as they did following Hurricane Katrina.

The Energy Information Agency reported a national average of $2.798 per gallon for the week ending Sept. 26. That’s up 6.6 from the previous week. By comparison, prices jumped 30 cents in one week following Hurricane Katrina.

The highest prices were in California, at $3.031 per gallon, though that was down almost 3 cents from the week before. The rest of the West Coast wasn’t far behind at $2.978 per gallon.

The biggest jump was in the Midwest, where prices rose 9.1 cents to $2.739 per gallon. The Gulf Coast region wasn’t far behind, with a jump of 7.9 cents to $2.756 per gallon.

The Lower Atlantic region also saw a big jump. Prices there rose 7.3 cents to $2.775 per gallon. The Central Atlantic had the highest prices in that area at $2.875 per gallon, while New England came in at $2.875 per gallon.

The East Coast region as a whole posted an average of $2.808 per gallon.

Meanwhile, truck stops across the country were reporting minimal effects from Rita.

Flying J reported that its facilities in Houston and New Caney, TX had escaped damages from the weekend hurricane and were being refueled Monday. Another Flying J in Orange, TX, did have some damage and was closed.

Travel Centers of America was still reporting some rationing at some of its stations Monday, including stations in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

Petro reported that its station in Beaumont, TX, along Interstate 10 was still closed as crews worked to assess the damage there. Petro also reported fuel shortages at some stations in Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina.

And the oil industry is breathing a little easier after Rita missed major petroleum processing areas in Texas.

Light, sweet crude oil was trading at $65.85 per barrel in midafternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Though that is up from last week, it is still not close to the $70.85 per barrel spike that followed Hurricane Katrina.

The Associated Press reported that, although overall damage was not as bad as expected, 16 Texas oil refineries were still shut down on Monday, and significant damage was found on at least one refinery in the Port Arthur area.

A 255,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Port Arthur owned by Valero Energy Corp. was said to be the most damaged. That plant could take at least two weeks to reopen.

Meanwhile, President Bush announced on Monday that the government is prepared to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve again, if needed.

No word yet on just how much would be released. That number will be determined by requests from oil companies once they fully assess the damage.