Diesel price tops $3 per litre after overnight hike

The price of diesel and furnace oil jumped overnight in New Brunswick.

The maximum price for diesel including delivery jumped up 68.6 cents to come in at 307.3 cents a litre.

Meanwhile, maximum furnace oil prices with delivery went up 67.2 cents to 284.6 cents a litre.

The overnight increase brings both fuels to their highest prices since at least 2006 when the Energy and Utilities board started regulating fuel prices.

Generally fuel prices are reset every Wednesday at midnight. But the prices can be changed, either higher or lower, at any time if the benchmark price changes by more than six cents in one day.

Farmers hurting

The price increase spells trouble for industries that rely on diesel, like farming.

David Coburn of Coburn Farms said the impact will be immediate.

"We just started our grain corn harvest this year for the season and it's approximately going to be an extra $1,000 a day on harvesting our corn crop," he said. 

"With all the trucks and tractors and combines that were running, it's going to be a major hit."

Mark Smith of Springhill Farms said the increase will be felt now. But it will be worse if it continues into next spring and summer "when we start using the tractors more."

A trend?

The increase in diesel and heating oil isn't just impacting New Brunswickers.

In Nova Scotia, the price of diesel rose by 15 cents overnight to 248.7 cents.

Meanwhile in Newfoundland and Labrador, prices for diesel jumped by 27 cents for most of the province while heating oil in parts of Labrador went up by 30.92 cents.

There was an increase of nine cents a litre on both fuels on Prince Edward Island.