Diesel fuel’s price rises for six weeks in a row

The average price of diesel fuel nationwide surged 7.4 cents to $2.572 a gallon. This marks the sixth consecutive weekly increase, the Department of Energy said. In the past five weeks, the price has risen more than 30 cents.

Diesel’s price is $2.12 below the same week in 2008, when it was advancing toward its July 14 record of $4.764 a gallon.

Prices climbed from 5.2 cents a gallon on the West Coast to 8.8 cents in the Lower Atlantic area. At $2.52 a gallon, the Rocky Mountain area is the least expensive region; the most expensive is California at $2.734.