Diesel prices are up for the fourth week in a row, according to weekly figures released Monday by the U.S. Department of Energy, and are nearing $4 per gallon in some areas of the country.


The national average diesel price of $3.796 was up 1.3 cents from a week ago but is still down 14.1 cents from a year earlier.

The average price of diesel in California remained nearly the same as last week at $3.967, with the average West Coast price at $3.898.

The lowest average diesel price was in the Gulf Coast region at $3.696, down 1.5 cents from the week before.

The national average of a gallon of gasoline, $3.508, was up 1.4 cents from last week, but is still 20.3 cents less than it was a year ago.

The highest average gasoline price was in the West Coast region at $3.708, although if you take California out of the mix it's $3.546. The New England region was the next highest at $3.63, which actually was down a fraction of a cent from last week.

The lowest average gasoline prices were reported in the Gulf Coast region, with an average of $3.31.

Crude oil futures Monday were marginally lower, with New York Mercantile Exchange futures at $89.78 a barrel, down 35 cents. Brent oil futures were trading at $106.15 a barrel, down 32 cents.