EIA sees diesel up 7% in 2011
The retail price of a gallon of on-highway diesel fuel will average about $3.40 cents a gallon through 2011, an increase of slightly less than 7 cents a gallon over the current national average, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
In its weekly update released Monday, the EIA said the national average price for diesel rose 2 cents per gallon from the prior week to settle at $3.33 a gallon. That represents the sixth consecutive weekly price increase and the highest level since late October 2008.
The current national average price for diesel is 45.4 cents higher than at this time in 2010, a 15.8-percent increase over that span.
Should the EIA's 2011 estimates prove accurate, it would mark a 13.7-percent increase from the average price for a gallon of diesel recorded in 2010. For 2012, EIA is forecasting an average price of $3.52 a gallon, a 3.4-percent gain over the average 2011 price.
