Source: EIA

Source: EIA

The price of a gallon of diesel fuel increased for the third straight week, once again rising above $2 per gallon, according to the latest numbers from the Energy Department.

The price of a gallon of on-highway diesel increased 3.2 cents last week to an average of $2.021 nationally. Despite the price increases, diesel is still 92.3 cents cheaper than it was a year ago.

Prices increased in most locations with the largest jump occurring in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain regions at 4.6 cents per gallon. In the New England region, the price actually decreased slightly by 0.7 cents per gallon.

Gasoline prices were up last week as well, with the average price of regular grade gasoline increasing 5.8 cents to $1.841 per gallon.  The price is 64.6 cents cheaper than it was in the same period last year.

The largest jump in gasoline prices was in the Midwest region with a 9.3-cent increase for the week while the smallest change occurred in New England at 0.8 cents per gallon.

Fuel prices have been increasing in recent weeks due largely to a rally in crude oil prices as investors anticipate a production slowdown. On Monday, prices climbed to their highest point since late December of last year, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Several oil producing countries have talked about reducing or freezing oil production to address a supply glut caused by a lower overall global demand for oil.

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