Mark Szakonyi, Associate Editor | Mar 12, 2012 5:21PM EDT
Diesel prices across the U.S. rose at the slowest pace in three weeks, climbing 2.9 cents in the week ending March 12 as oil prices fell at the end of trading for the first time in four days.
Prices rose to $4.123 but the pace was more akin to the steady increases seen since the beginning of the year, not the surge experienced in the last two weeks. The average price is 21.4 cents higher than the same period a year ago, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The rise was the steepest on the West Coast excluding California, where prices jumped 7.3 cents to $4.348 a gallon. On the East Coast, the New England region saw the only drop in prices, as diesel per gallon dropped 0.003 cents to $4.250. The Midwest joined the rest of the nation in seeing diesel prices increase above $4 a gallon.
Crude oil for April delivery fell $1.06 to $106.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The release of China’s surprisingly large trade deficit pushed down investors’ confidence in global production.
Contact Mark Szakonyi at mszakonyi@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @szakonyi_joc
