Diesel’s new high of $6 per gallon will make ‘just about everything’ more expensive

The nationwide average price of diesel hit $6 per gallon Friday for the first time, an ominous record for the fuel that powers much of the U.S. economy.

The price was $6.05 as of Friday morning, according to data from motor club AAA. The national average price of regular gas was $4.29, up 15 cents since last week.

Since the war with Iran began in late February, the nationwide average diesel price has soared by 60%.

“The cost of diesel gets into just about everything,” KPMG chief economist Diane Swonk said in a recent interview.

“From running a farm … [to the] cost of food, but also everything across the economy that’s shipped,” she said. When diesel prices rise, everything “gets that extra fee tacked onto it.”

Swonk predicted that the high cost of diesel will be an “inflationary problem” for months to come.

Since late July, diesel prices have been rising higher and faster overall than the cost of regular unleaded gas.

That’s because key refineries that produce it have been knocked offline or destroyed, both in Eastern Europe — where the Ukraine-Russia war still rages — and in the Middle East.

And while all forms of fossil fuels…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business