Gas, Diesel Prices Up But Oil Prices Drop Due to Japan Crisis

TORRANCE, CA – Although gas and diesel prices are still on the rise in the U.S., at an average of $3.567 for gasoline and $3.908 for diesel, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration, oil prices were down significantly for the week in the wake of the disaster in Japan. The EIA’s data shows that crude oil futures dropped by more than $4.25 per barrel to $101.19/bbl, as of March 14. Reuters reported on the effect the crisis in Japan is having on oil and markets in general.

As always, fuel prices lag behind the price of oil (and the cost of crude oil only makes up 67 percent of the price of gasoline, 61 percent of the price of diesel). Gasoline was up 4.7 cents per gallon from the previous week as of March 14 and diesel was up 3.7 cents from the week before.

By Greg Basich