National pump diesel set a new daily high while California averaged about $7.83; this is a product story, not a crude duplicate.
Energy • Fuels • Logistics
AAA’s national diesel average stood at $5.9012 a gallon on Sep. 8 after a record $5.9015 on Sep. 7. An earlier AP print of $5.85 reflected Friday’s level before the Labor Day climb; both sit on the same trajectory. California AAA diesel averaged about $7.83. Regular gasoline averaged $4.15 nationally.
EIA’s weekly on-highway diesel series, last released Sep. 1 near $5.60, lags AAA’s daily survey and samples differently. The two series are not contradictory. In nominal terms the AAA print tops the June 2022 peak near $5.82; inflation-adjusted, AP notes older peaks remain higher in 2026 dollars.
Drivers include Middle East product-flow disruption, refining outages, and refiners prioritizing diesel, gasoline, and jet over fuel oil. Pre-war AAA diesel was about $3.76 in late February. The story is a U.S. retail diesel and middle-distillate squeeze, not another Brent settle lead.
Sources: AAA gasprices.aaa.com; AP; EIA Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update; Reuters ship-fuel.
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