The price of diesel fuel increased last week, breaking a three-week streak of average price decreases, according to the latest numbers from the Energy Department.

The average price of a gallon of on-highway diesel fuel increased 1.6 cents nationally to $2.492. Despite the increase, the price is still down $1.241 compared with the same period last year.

While prices were still down slightly in most areas of the U.S., increases in the Midwest, West Coast and Rock Mountain regions drove the national average up. The largest increase was found in the Midwest with a 5.5-cent increase. The largest decrease in prices was in the Central Atlantic at 1.6 cents per gallon.

The average price of a gallon of gasoline was down an almost imperceptible amount, dropping 0.4 cents and settling at $2.318. Prices fluctuated up and down by region with the largest increase coming to the Midwest with a 2.7-cent jump. The largest decrease was in the Rocky Mountain region with a 6.2-cent drop.

Crude oil prices increased a few percentage points Monday, on news that Russia would be willing to meet with other OPEC and other oil producing companies about the current state of the market, according to a CNBC report.

Despite the increases, some market analysts are uncertain that the prices will continue to rise on reports that U.S. oil inventories may actually increase while the demand remains low.

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