Diesel Dips 0.2¢ to $3.078 a Gallon as Oil Surges

The U.S. retail diesel average price dipped 0.2 cent to $3.078 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported, as the price of crude oil surged past $61 a barrel amid tighter supplies.

The average price was 3.6 cents higher than a year earlier, when diesel was $3.042 a gallon.

Diesel prices climbed in three regions and fell in seven, DOE said after its April 1 survey of fueling stations.

Also last week, the national average price for regular gasoline climbed 6.8 cents to $2.691 a gallon, DOE’s Energy Information Administration said.

Gas prices jumped in all regions, but the average remained 0.9 cent cheaper than a year ago, EIA said.

It was the eighth consecutive weekly increase in the average gasoline price, which has risen 43.7 cents in the period.

Meanwhile, oil extended its best-in-a-decade rally as Chinese manufacturing data and fresh evidence of OPEC supply cuts fed into the bullish outlook for prices, Bloomberg News reported.

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