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Diesel Prices Continue To Climb With New $6.21 Record

BOSTON (CBS) -- The price of diesel in Massachusetts hit a new record high of $6.21 Friday, according to AAA.

This is a 32-cent increase from Monday's record of $5.89.

The gap between gas and diesel prices is the widest it's been in decades, according to Suffolk University Economist Jonathan Haughton.

He said there are several reasons for that including a crude oil shortage in parts of Africa, western countries using diesel for heating, and more ships at work that need diesel to fill up.

The high diesel prices could have both short and long-term effects.

"There are about 2 million truckers in the US, and some of them are going to go out of business," Haughton said. "They're not going to be able to come up with the cash to pay for their fuel, and that's going to make things even worse for a while."

On Wednesday, it cost $650 for one truck driver to fill his tank at the Framingham rest stop along the Mass Pike. For another driver, the total was $1,000.

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