DOE Diesel Up 9.7 Cents to $6.276, California at $8.242/Gal

The DOE number (EIA's weekly on-highway diesel survey, week of Oct. 19) came in at $6.276/gal, up 9.7 cents on the week. At the stated 6.5 mpg reference, that is 96.6 cents a mile, and the move adds about $7.46 to the fuel bill on a 500-mile haul. The index sits 71% above the five-year median for this calendar week.

• Midwest (PADD 2): $6.352/gal, up 1% week over week per EIA's survey, 76% above the five-year median, the largest above-median reading of any region in this week's release.
• Gulf Coast (PADD 3): $5.903/gal, up 2% week over week, the lowest-priced region nationally and 73% above its five-year median.
• Rocky Mountain (PADD 4): $6.422/gal, up 2% week over week, 72% above the five-year median.
• California: $8.242/gal, up 2% week over week, 68% above the five-year median.
• West Coast (PADD 5): $7.394/gal, up 2% week over week. The West-vs-Gulf gap stands at 149.1 cents/gal over the Gulf Coast (PADD 3) at $5.903/gal.
• WTI crude (Cushing spot): $101.91/bbl as of Oct. 14, up 7% on the week per EIA's daily spot series. Over the same span, the DOE number rose 9.7 cents; crude is roughly half the cost of a gallon of diesel and reaches the pump with a lag of days to weeks.

Gulf Coast ULSD spot was $4.844/gal and New York Harbor ULSD spot was $5.066/gal, both as of Oct. 14, per EIA's daily spot series. The retail-minus-spot gap puts the US pump price $1.432/gal over Gulf Coast spot, a figure that includes fuel taxes and the full distribution layer, not a station's margin.