National on-highway diesel prices rose last week for the first time in over a month, but only by 1 cent to $3.82.


Prices rose by 5.3 cents on the West Coast, which carried the largest increase. Several regions decreased, including the Gulf Coast, which remained the cheapest at $3.763 per gallon. Prices dropped there by nine-tenths of a cent.

New England prices dropped by 1.7 cents, but the region remains the most expensive at $3.977. Nationally, prices are up 88.2 cents from the same week last year.

Oil futures rallied on Monday, despite Hurricane Irene. Light, sweet crude for October delivery settled up $1.90, or 2.2%, to $87.27 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The prices followed a corresponding rally in equities markets.

The weak economic recovery continues to keep oil prices down, offering a reprieve for trucking, from the yearly high reached of nearly $115 per barrel reached in May.