Gasoline prices still rising

Drivers took a hit at the pumps over the last week, the Energy Department said Monday, as gasoline continued its unusual September climb in most of the nation and U.S. diesel prices topped $3 a gallon for the first time in more than a year.

…”Refineries have been playing catch-up on gasoline supplies. We have been focused on gas stocks all summer and rightly so, but diesel supplies are well below normal compared to a year ago,” said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst for Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago.

Independent long-haul truck drivers are among those feeling the most pain. On a one-way contract to deliver a load of garage doors from Farmington, Conn., to West Covina last week, trucker Lee Klaus said, he spent $1,498 on diesel for his 1999 “Condo” Freightliner, including a fill-up at a Mobil station near Ontario Mills Mall for $3.49 a gallon. Both were record-high costs for Klaus, who said his average coast-to-coast job pays him about $3,000 before expenses.

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, “diesel prices went from painful to excruciating,” said Klaus, 60, who lives in Portland, Ore., when he isn’t hauling cargo. “Now, it’s gone from excruciating to nearly unbearable.”

But there may be little relief soon. Unlike gasoline demand, which typically slows at this time of year, diesel demand is heading for its yearly peak as retailers gather goods for the holiday shopping season.

LA Times