NEW YORK — U.S. diesel prices broke the $3 a gallon mark for the first time since November 2008, reports the Department of Energy.

After falling 0.7 cents last week on the heels of a five-week gain, diesel climbed back 78.7 cents higher than the same week last year to settle at a national average of $3.015 a gallon.

The rising fuel prices may be the clearest indication that a U.S. economic recovery is well underway.

Crude oil recently hit an 18-month high as it passed $85 a barrel and analysts predicted higher prices to come.

The West Coast and Central Atlantic regions had the highest prices while the Gulf Coast and Lower Atlantic regions saw the lowest averages.

In Canada, diesel and furnace oil prices have also risen steadily over the last few months.

As always, diesel prices in Atlantic Canada and Quebec remain the highest in the country, well over $1 a liter in most cities and as high $1.15 in parts of Newfoundland and Labrador.

In Southern Ontario, prices hovered around the 95-cent mark this last week.

Southern Alberta saw the lowest prices in the country, between 82 and 89 cents a liter.