Diesel cost 88.8% more in June 2022 than in January 2020 — six post-COVID phases tell why

Asked:

“How diesel fuel prices has been changed in the united states post covid? Create graph for each major shift”

The chart covers 74 monthly averages of the U.S. on-highway diesel retail price, January 2020 through February 2026, in nominal dollars per gallon including taxes. The price series is single-sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration; explanatory context comes from independent reporting.

Each major shift, up close

The 2022 spike is the defining move: the $5.754 June 2022 monthly peak was 88.8% above the $3.048 of January 2020, driven by Russia's invasion of Ukraine on top of low distillate inventories and recovering demand. reuters.com

EIA linked the spring-2022 run-up to the invasion of Ukraine disrupting crude and product markets and to concerns about reduced Russian exports. eia.gov

EIA attributed the 2023–24 decline to slower demand growth, continued high production, and added global refinery capacity. eia.gov

For 2024–25 EIA expected further easing from narrowing crack spreads, more U.S. and international refinery capacity, and lower crude prices. eia.gov

In plain English

Diesel fell through 2020 as COVID crushed travel and freight, then climbed steadily as the economy reopened. Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, hitting a market with thin distillate inventories, pushed the monthly average to $5.754 in June 2022 — nearly double its pre-COVID level. Prices then unwound over the following year, bounced briefly in late 2023, and eased into a plateau: diesel spent 2025 mostly between $3.50 and $3.85 and stood at $3.722 in February 2026, about 22% above where it started in January 2020.

Monthly prices

Month	$ / gallon	Source

Data: 74 monthly U.S. on-highway diesel retail price observations, January 2020–February 2026, nominal dollars per gallon including taxes, from the EIA petroleum price history. Monthly values are simple averages of EIA weekly surveys; the numeric series is single-sourced from EIA. EIA changed its diesel-price survey methodology on June 13, 2022, so values just before and after that date are not perfectly comparable. Percent changes are endpoint comparisons, not inflation-adjusted. Source-evidence snippets were trimmed from the table for space. The curve alone does not prove causation.

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