Diesel rose for a second week following six straight declines, increasing 2.6 cents to $3.854 a gallon, while gasoline rose less than a penny, the Department of Energy reported this week.

The increase followed almost two weeks of $100-plus per-barrel oil, though the price fell under that level late last week.

Gasoline gained 0.9 cent to $3.391 a gallon, its fourth straight increase, DOE said following its weekly surveys of filling stations.

Crude futures rose $2.01 on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday to finish the trading day at $100.71 per barrel, Bloomberg reported.

Diesel had declined 22.7 cents in six straight declines prior to last week's 4.5-cent increase, according to DOE records.

Trucking's main fuel is now 44.7 cents over same week last year, while gasoline is 28.7 cents higher, DOE said.

Industrial production rose 0.4% in December as

factory output climbed by the most in year, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.

The increase in output from factories, mines and utilities followed a revised 0.3% decline in November.

The December reading was lower than economists' projections of a 0.5% increase, Bloomberg reported.

Factory production, which makes up three-quarters of the total, climbed 0.9%.

Production of automobiles and parts gained 0.6%, while factory production excluding autos rose 0.4%.

Capacity utilization, which measures plant output, improved to 78.1%, from 77.8% in November.

Manufacturing accounts for about an eighth of the U.S. economy and the factory sector is one of trucking's largest and most important customers.