Will high diesel prices cause grocery shortages or inflation?

Diesel and inflation

Truckers and grocers

Over the past month WMT led this group at +11.3%, while JBHT lagged at -3.4%.

No insider at these companies bought shares on the open market in the last 90 days.

Data: official daily and weekly series for prices, yields and rates, refreshed every day; stock moves from daily closes; insider trades from SEC Form 4. Live pages: ODFL, KNX, JBHT, KR, WMT, COST.

What would change the picture

• U.S. diesel moving above its 52-week high of $6.53 or back toward the low of $3.46; it is $6.18 now.
• Shipping news from the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea: Brent reacts first. The Brent-WTI gap is $24.64; a narrowing gap would mean the shipping risk premium is easing.
• Weekly U.S. crude inventories (Wednesdays): bigger-than-usual draws point to tighter supply.
• The next Fed decision on 2026-10-28. Market odds: 85% hold, 1% cut, 14% hike.

These are the numbers and events to watch, not a forecast.

U.S. diesel today vs past years

Today's $6.18 is higher than 100% of all readings since 2001.

U.S. diesel: the last 10 years

The highest reading since 2001 was $6.53 on 2026-09-21. The current year is partial.

Questions people also ask

What was the highest U.S. diesel in the past year?

U.S. diesel ranged from $3.46 to $6.53 over the past 12 months. The latest reading is $6.18 (2026-10-12).

How much has U.S. diesel changed in a year?

U.S. diesel is +66.5% from a year ago, +28.9% over three months and +3.6% over the past month.

Why is diesel more expensive than gasoline?

Diesel is $6.18 vs $4.33 for regular gasoline. Diesel competes with global demand from trucking, shipping, farming and heating, refiners get less of it per barrel, and it carries a higher federal tax (24.4 cents vs 18.4 cents a gallon).

Which related stocks did best this month?

Of the 6 companies tracked on this page, WMT did best over a month (+11.3%) and JBHT worst (-3.4%). No insider at these companies bought shares on the open market in the last 90 days.

Dates to watch

Key terms on this page

Open-market trade

A purchase or sale on the exchange at the market price, paid with the insider's own money (code P or S on Form 4), as opposed to option exercises, grants or gifts.

52-week high / low

The highest and lowest daily closing price over the past year (about 252 trading days).

WTI

West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark crude oil, priced at Cushing, Oklahoma.

Brent

The international benchmark crude from the North Sea. It reflects seaborne oil, so it reacts more to shipping risk in the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.

Barrel

42 U.S. gallons. Refining one barrel yields roughly 19-20 gallons of gasoline and 11-12 of diesel.

Federal funds rate

The overnight rate banks charge each other, which the Fed sets as a target range at its eight yearly meetings.

CPI

The Consumer Price Index, the main U.S. inflation measure, published monthly.

Where these numbers come from

• U.S. diesel (weekly national average retail, $/gallon): official public data series, latest reading 2026-10-12.
• WTI crude (daily spot, $/barrel): official public data series, latest reading 2026-10-14.
• U.S. regular gasoline (weekly national average retail, $/gallon): official public data series, latest reading 2026-10-12.
• Consumer prices (CPI, all items): official public data series, latest reading 2026-09-01.
• Consumer prices (CPI, food): official public data series, latest reading 2026-09-01.
• Changes compare the latest reading with the closest reading 7, 30, 91 and 365 days earlier; the 52-week range uses every reading in the past year.
• Related stocks: daily closing prices and open-market insider trades from SEC Form 4 (last 90 days).

Every number on this page is computed from the data when the page is refreshed (usually daily); nothing is typed in by hand. This is information, not investment advice.