Gasoline And Diesel Prices Still Rising

Fuel prices generally start falling after Labor Day as the demands of summer-vacation driving recede. Having seen the big jumps in August’s Consumer and Producer Price Energy Indices, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics last week, we thought we’d check to see if there has been any downward movement since the holiday.

Answer: Nope, not so far. According to AAA, average national gasoline prices rose nearly 4 cents for the week ending Sept. 16, to $3.864 a gallon. The average is nearly 15 cents higher than a month ago and more than 25 cents above this time last year. Diesel prices rose very slightly in the last week, but are 16.4 cents higher than a month ago and 22.6 cents above this time last year.

Still, nearly all observers expect gas and diesel prices to begin their seasonal decline soon.