Source: EIA

Source: EIA

The price of diesel fuel in the U.S. increased for the first time in a month, ending a streak of three straight weeks of price drops, according to the latest numbers from the Energy Department.

The average price of on-highway diesel fuel jumped 2.4 cents last week, hitting $2.556 per gallon at the pump. The price is now 44.1 cents more than it was in the same week of 2016.

Prices were up in all major regions of the country, with the largest increase, 3.6 cents, hitting the Gulf Coast. The smallest increase in prices was on the West Coast, where prices rose only 1.7 cents in the same time period.

The average price of regular gasoline was up by a larger amount, 4.5 cents last week, hitting $2.36 per gallon. The price is 27.7 cents more than in the same week a year ago. The largest increase in gasoline prices was a 9.5-cent jump in the Midwest region, while the smallest increase in prices was on the West Coast at 0.5 cents.

Crude oil prices were down slightly to end the day on April 3 due to new production from the largest oil field in Libya, according to a report in MarketWatch. The new oil production from Libya is outputting 700,000 barrels of oil per day, possibly exacerbating a production glut in an oil market with less demand.

Prices were up overall last week on reports that fuel demand in the U.S. was increasing but worries over increased U.S. oil production and OPEC’s commitment to reducing production have kept prices depressed for much of 2017.

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