WASHINGTON, D.C. --- The national average retail price for regular gasoline rose 3.2 cents to reach $3.162 per gallon, as of March 3, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported. This was an increase of 65.7 cents above the price a year ago.
Prices on the East Coast increased by 2.0 cents to $3.168 per gallon, 67.7 cents per gallon above the price last year. For the second week in a row, the average price in the Lower Atlantic was at an all-time high. The price climbed 2.4 cents to $3.177 per gallon.
The Midwest was the only region of the country where the average price did not increase. There, the price was unchanged from the previous week at $3.080 per gallon. That was the lowest price for any region in the country and 61.5 cents per gallon above the price a year ago.
The Gulf Coast average gasoline price increased by 3.2 cents to $3.088 per gallon, 72.1 cents per gallon higher than the price last year. The price in the Rocky Mountains went up by 3.7 cents to $3.088 per gallon. The increase pushed the price in the Rocky Mountain region to the same level as that in the Gulf Coast.
Not only did prices on the West Coast remain the highest on a regional basis, but the average price there surged, increasing by 12.1 cents to reach the all-time high for the region at $3.386 per gallon. That is 62.1 cents above the price at the same time last year and 0.8 cent above the previous all-time high set on May 14, 2007. In California, the average price for regular grade jumped by 13.1 cents to $3.459 per gallon, 56.2 cents above the price a year ago.
The U.S. average retail diesel price continued its rapid upward climb, advancing by 10.6 cents to $3.658 per gallon. That's an all-time high for the second week in a row. The diesel price was $1.032 above the price a year ago.
Diesel prices also reached all-time record levels in all regions of the country. On the East Coast, the diesel price rose by 9.2 cents to $3.700 per gallon, $1.096 per gallon above the price last year. In the Midwest, the diesel price jumped by 11.4 cents to $3.639 per gallon, an increase of $1.033 from a year ago.
The diesel price in the Gulf Coast area increased by 9.9 cents to $3.609 per gallon, which was $1.022 above the level a year ago. The average diesel price in the Rocky Mountains remained the lowest of any region last week, although it moved up by 10.0 cents to $3.573 per gallon. That was 91.5 cents above the price a year ago and 4.1 cents per gallon above the previous all-time high price for the region set on November 12, 2007.
On the West Coast, the average diesel price shot up by 12.7 cents to $3.736 per gallon, 94.1 cents above the price a year ago. In California, the average diesel price surged, moving up by 13.1 cents to $3.803 per gallon, 90.6 cents higher than last year.
