Diesel Tops $4 for First Time Since May; Gasoline Rises 2.3� to $3.744 a Gallon

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Diesel rose 6.1 cents to $4.026 a gallon, its seventh straight increase and the first time it has topped $4 in three months, the Department of Energy reported.

Gasoline, meanwhile, gained 2.3 cents to $3.744 a gallon, DOE said late Monday following its weekly survey of filling stations.

The diesel increase left trucking’s main fuel 21.6 cents above the same week last year, while gas is now 16.3 cents over a year ago.

Diesel had not topped $4 since May 14, according to DOE records. Gasoline is also at its highest level in three months.

The gains followed higher oil prices, as crude finished the trading day Friday over $96 a barrel, its highest level since mid-May, Bloomberg reported.

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Existing Home Sales Rise in November; Purchases Since 2007 Revised Down

Existing home sales rose 4% in November to an annual rate of 4.42 million homes, but sales figures since 2007 were revised down, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday.

The median price of existing homes fell 3.5% in November from a year ago, to $164,200.

Sales increased in all four national regions, led by a 9.8% gain in the Northeast.

The group also reported existing home sales for 2010 were revised down by 15% to 4.19 million, from 4.91 million.

Purchases were also revised down by 16% for 2009, 16% for 2008 and 11% for 2007.

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November Truck Tonnage Rises 6% in Biggest Gain Since June

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Truck tonnage rose 6% in November from a year ago, the biggest increase since June, American Trucking Associations said Wednesday.

The increase rounds out two years of consecutive year-over-year growth, and followed a 5.7% increase in October. In June, tonnage rose 6.5% year-over-year.

On a monthly basis, November tonnage was 0.3% higher than October, ATA said in its monthly seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage report.

That followed a revised 0.4% month-to-month gain that had originally been reported as a 0.5% increase.

The seasonally adjusted index for November came in at a reading of 116.6, up from 116.3 in October.

The not seasonally adjusted index, which measures actual tonnage, slipped 2.6% to a 115.3 reading.

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Jobless Claims Decline to Lowest Level Since April

Initial jobless claims decreased by 5,000 last week to 388,000, the lowest level in seven months, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Economists had forecast 395,000 new claims, Bloomberg reported.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, declined to 396,750, from 400,750 the previous week.

Continuing jobless claims for the previous week ended Nov. 5 fell by 57,000 to 3.61 million, the lowest since September 2008.

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Oil Tops $100 for First Time Since June

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Oil jumped above $100 a barrel Wednesday, closing over that level for the first time in five months, Bloomberg reported.

Crude futures rose $3.22 to finish at $102.59 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest closing price since May 31.

Oil last closed over $100 a barrel on June 9, when it finished at $101.93, according to Bloomberg figures

Prices have soared almost $30 in the past six weeks on the Nymex, from the mid-$70s in early October.

The gain Wednesday was due in part to a decision by Enbridge Inc., which will reverse the direction of its Seaway pipeline, adding an outlet for crude from the central U.S. and Canada, Bloomberg reported.

The change may alleviate a bottleneck at the Cushing, Okla., storage hub that has lowered the price of West Texas Intermediate crude, the grade traded in New York, against other oils, Bloomberg said.

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