Diesel galloped to a new record of nearly $6.45 per gallon on Friday as oil prices remained firmly above $100 a barrel and supply squeezes pushed more state averages to new peaks.
“New Jersey and Maine have just reached a new all-time record price for diesel, making it now 44 states where diesel prices are at all-time highs,” GasBuddy head of petroleum analysis Patrick De Haan noted on X on Thursday.
At this pace, the national average could soon surpass the 2022 inflation-adjusted peak of $6.58, according to De Haan. Meanwhile, AAA data showed gasoline prices stood at $4.46 per gallon, about $0.10 below May’s yearly peak when US-Iran hostilities sent oil soaring
Regionally, diesel shows pockets of deepening splits, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
While East Coast prices track the national average, West Coast diesel prices have exceeded $8 due to high taxes, limited refining capacity, and import dependence.
In the Midwest, harvest demand and refinery outages have pushed diesel near $7.
Diesel fuel prices by region.
Read more: Find the best credit cards for buying gas
Some strategists speculate that a US diesel export ban could be implemented ahead of the midterm elections if prices don’t come down soon.
The Trump administration on Wednesday issued a 90-day waiver to temporarily ease rules on hours of service by truck drivers handling gasoline and diesel, with US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy citing supply and cost concerns.
The 90-day waiver allows drivers to operate for up to 16 hours within a 24-hour span, up from 14 under existing requirements, as long as they take required rest breaks.
Trucking transport stocks took a hit this week as diesel prices surged.
A look at Yahoo Finance’s AlphaSpace chart shows the impact of higher fuel costs on J.B. Hunt’s (JBHT) stock after CFO Brad Delco warned that rising diesel prices would impact the company’s bottom line.
“We kind of want to be transparent with investors and give an update … in light of these costs that are sort of hitting us,” Delco said at the Morgan Stanley Industrial Conference on Tuesday.
The freight transportation company expects its quarter-to-quarter earnings to drop 5% to 10%.
“The impact of upward diesel prices for 7 consecutive weeks makes it difficult for surcharges to catch up to prices at the pump,” Bank of America analysts said on Thursday.
Brent crude (BZ=F) edged past $100 for the first time in two months last week amid ongoing fighting in the Middle East. Energy bottlenecks tied to the US-Iran conflict, along with refining constraints, have pushed crack spreads, or the difference between crude oil and refined fuel prices, to new highs.
Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance.
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