The Cost of Diesel Is Now Over $6 Per Gallon Across New Jersey and It’s Going to Climb Higher

Robert Walker

TOMS RIVER, NJ – You might be able to get a gallon of diesel at Wawa for $5.99 across the Jersey Shore today, but everywhere else, prices range between $6 and $6.29 per gallon.

According to GasBuddy.com, that’s a new all-time national record for the fuel that powers the backbone of the U.S. supply chain, meaning high diesel prices at the pump will lead to even higher prices on all of the goods and services consumed in America.

Diesel prices on April 29th reached a new average all-time high of $5.16 per gallon and have kept climbing in the eight days since, surpassing the previous record of $5.15 per gallon set on March 10, according to GasBuddy, the leading fuel savings platform providing North American drivers with the most ways to save money on gas.

In addition, a second record has been set: diesel prices are now as much as $2 per gallon higher than gasoline prices, surpassing the previous record 98 cent difference set in November, 2008.


“While gasoline prices get much of the attention, diesel, which broadly is the fuel that moves the economy, has quietly surpassed its recent record high as distillate inventories, which include diesel and jet fuel, have plummeted to their lowest level in years,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “Should distillate inventories fall another five million barrels, which is less than five percent, they will be at their lowest level in nearly 20 years, compounding the problem. There’s no quick solution as the economy has seen a robust turn around, made worse by Russia’s war on Ukraine as the West fences off Russia’s oil.”

The recent resurgence in diesel prices can be attributed to continued escalations in the situation and plunging inventories of oil and refined products, like diesel, along with recovering demand as goods move across the country, much of which is powered by diesel fuel in semi-trucks, trains and ships.

“Diesel prices in the Northeast are likely to rise above any other region due to the loss of refining capacity from both Covid-induced shutdowns and a 2019 fire at the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery in 2019. Combined, these issues have caused the loss of nearly half a million barrels in refining capacity,” GasBuddy.com noted in a statement last week. “Diesel prices are likely to remain at a substantial premium to gasoline as imbalances persist, however, refiners are likely adjusting yields to produce as much diesel and jet fuel. Economics favor production of these refined products and refiners chase the higher market value of these fuels.”

Across the Jersey Shore today, regular unleaded is selling in the area of $4.45 per gallon and nearly $5 per gallon for premium gasoline.

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