DOE Diesel Rises 31.8 Cents to $6.285, Lower Atlantic Up 9%

EIA's weekly on-highway diesel survey for the week of Sept. 14 put the Monday number at $6.285/gal, up 31.8 cents from last week. At the stated 6.5 mpg reference, that is 96.7 cents a mile, and the week's move adds about $24.46 to the fuel bill on a 500-mile haul. The index now sits 68% above its five-year median.

• Lower Atlantic (PADD 1C) posted the largest regional gain in EIA's weekly survey, up 9% week over week to $6.096/gal, 66% above its five-year median.
• East Coast (PADD 1) rose 7% on the week to $6.158/gal, 64% above its five-year median.
• Brent crude (Europe spot, per EIA): $109.51/bbl as of Sept. 9, up 12% on the week, the biggest percentage move of any series in this week's digest. Brent sits 51% above its five-year median.
• WTI crude (Cushing spot, per EIA): $97.26/bbl as of Sept. 9, up $4.57/bbl from $92.69/bbl on Sept. 4. The DOE retail number moved up 31.8 cents over the same days. Crude is roughly half the cost of a gallon of diesel, and moves at this scale carry forward to the pump with a lag of days to weeks.
• West-vs-Gulf gap: the West Coast (PADD 5) at $7.250/gal sits 122.3 cents/gal over the Gulf Coast (PADD 3) at $6.027/gal. California on-highway diesel came in at $8.039/gal, 62% above its five-year median.

EIA's daily spot series put Gulf Coast ULSD at $4.832/gal and New York Harbor ULSD at $4.850/gal as of Sept. 9, the nearest business day before Monday's survey. Both are untaxed bulk wholesale prices, not pump prices. The retail-minus-spot gap stands at $1.453/gal, a proxy for the full hub-to-pump layer including federal and state fuel taxes and distribution costs.