No, Diesel Prices Are Not At All-Time Highs

Diesel prices are high right now, but they are not at record highs in inflation-adjusted dollars. The current national average price of a gallon of diesel is $6.3151, according to AAA. That’s a decline from a week earlier, when a gallon cost $6.4391 on average. Those figures are significantly below historical peaks. The July 14, 2008 diesel price of $4.764 a gallon translates to approximately $7.26 in August 2026 dollars, using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers. The June 20, 2022 weekly high of $5.810 similarly converts to approximately $6.57. The national average price for on-highway diesel hit $6.529 a gallon in the week of September 21, the highest weekly reading since the Energy Information Administration began the series in 1994. Reports describing diesel prices as being at all-time highs generally refer to those unadjusted figures. Comparing prices across decades requires accounting for changes in the dollar’s purchasing power. Texas A&M University’s Private Enterprise Research Center reached a similar conclusion in a September 25 analysis using monthly fuel prices and inflation adjustments. The center put the June 2008 diesel price at $7.19 a gallon and June 2022 diesel at $6.52 in August 2026 dollars. The first three weekly September readings averaged approximately $6.26, below both historical benchmarks.