Diesel Starts New Year Up 6.5 Cents

The start of the new year kicked off with diesel prices rising for the second week in a row, gaining 6.5 cents to a national average of $2.797

, according to the Department of Energy.

Last week, diesel saw its first boost in eight weeks, falling a total of 8.2 cents prior to that. Trucking's main fuel had reached as high as $2.808 on Nov. 2, 2009. This week's average is about 50 cents higher than the average during the same week last year, when it was at $2.297.

The New England and Central Atlantic regions beat out the West Coast for the highest average prices this week, at $2.935 and $2.932, respectively. The Rocky Mountain and Gulf Coast regions saw the lowest averages, at $2.746 and $2.75, respectively.

Alongside diesel, gasoline prices rose 5.8 cents to a national average of $2.665 this week. This is almost a dollar above the average during the same week last year.

While the U.S. is using less oil than a year ago, crude was up this week, due to a weak dollar and the winter weather, according to the Associated Press. The price of oil ended the trading day Monday at $81.51 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The publication reported that the price could break last year's high of $82 a barrel if the U.S. sees a large decline in supply this week.