80 cents in one week!?

This week’s Energy Information Administration fuel update showed some startling increases to diesel prices, including an 86-cent increase in the New England region.

The latest EIA report, released on May 2, said the national average is now $5.509, up from $5.16, a week ago.

That national average is now $2.367 higher than it was one year ago.

The startling numbers weren’t limited to New England. The Central Atlantic reported a 68-cent increase and the East Coast’s average price went up by 49 cents. In addition, the Midwest and Lower Atlantic saw prices jump by more than 30 cents.

An increase of 13.5 cents in California was the lowest reported this week.

Average U.S. price for a gallon of diesel on May 2 as reported by the EIA:

• U.S. – $5.509, up 34.9 cents.
• East Coast – $5.701, up 49.2 cents.
• New England – $6.101, up 86.1 cents.
• Central Atlantic – $6.08, up 68 cents.
• Lower Atlantic – $5.401, up 31.5 cents.
• Midwest – $5.329, up 34.2 cents.
• Gulf Coast – $5.21, up 29.4 cents.
• Rocky Mountain – $5.406, up 25.2 cents.
• West Coast – $6.021, up 18 cents.
• West Coast less California – $5.577, up 23.1 cents.
• California – $6.412, up 13.5 cents.

ProMiles.com reports the average U.S. retail price per gallon for diesel increased by 13.1 cents to $5.15, according to a May 2 report.

A key difference between the EIA and ProMiles reporting is the type and number of fueling stations the company surveys in order to calculate its averages. While EIA surveys 400 truck
stops and convenience stores nationwide, ProMiles uses its direct feed from thousands of truck stops to develop its averages.

Several regions saw major increases this week including 24.6 cents in the Central Atlantic, 23.8 cents in New England and 18.7 cents in the East Coast region.

California has the smallest increase at 4.9 cents per gallon.

Despite a 10.7-cent increase, the Gulf Coast still has the lowest price per gallon ($4.963).

Here are the average U.S. prices for a gallon of diesel reported for each region on Monday, May 2, by ProMiles.com:

• U.S. – $5.15, up 13.1 cents.
• East Coast – $5.289, up 18.7 cents.
• New England – $5.392, up 23.8 cents.
• Central Atlantic – $5.528, up 24.6 cents.
• Lower Atlantic – $5.103, up 12.8 cents.
• Midwest – $4.994, up 12 cents.
• Gulf Coast – $4.963, up 10.7 cents.
• Rocky Mountain – $5.161, up 7.7 cents.
• West Coast – $5.849, up 6.6 cents.
• West Coast without California – $5.334, up 8.5 cents.
• California – $6.27, up 4.9 cents.

Click here to view ProMiles fuel data averaged by state.

AAA reported the retail average U.S. price per gallon of diesel at $5.321 for May 2.

A week previous the average retail U.S. price for a gallon of diesel was $5.077 per gallon.

A month previous, AAA reported $5.10 per gallon of diesel, and a year ago $3.086 per gallon.

The highest recorded retail average U.S. diesel price was $5.37 per gallon on May 3, 2022, according to AAA. LL

Last week’s fuel report is here.