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9/7/11 (AEIN) Average gasoline and diesel fuel prices for the United States went up during the previous week, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration late Tuesday. California saw the sharpest increase in transportation fuel prices for the week.
The national average cost per gallon of diesel increased from $3.82 to nearly $3.87. Prices were highest in California, where they went from about $3.96 the previous week to almost $4.06. The average prices for other major U.S. regions remained below four dollars.
Average regular gasoline prices rose from nearly $3.63 last week to about $3.67. The cost of regular gasoline spiked 13.5 cents in California, rising to just over $3.94 per gallon. Meanwhile, premium gasoline reached an average of slightly more than $3.91.
The conflict in Libya and various tropical storms have kept oil prices relatively high. Widespread dependence upon passenger vehicles for personal transportation in the U.S. also prevents petroleum demand from falling significantly and reducing fuel costs.
Diesel prices reached averages as high as $4.12 per gallon in the first part of May. In 1990, a gallon of gasoline cost only $1.15 and by 2000 it had risen to just $1.52. This helped spur the sale of large automobiles and recreational vehicles.