November 2, 2004 4:00 PM, EST

Average Price of Diesel Falls 0.6 Cent; First Decline in 8 Weeks

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he Department of Energy said Monday the U.S. average price for retail diesel fuel dropped 0.6 cent to $2.206 per gallon, the first decline in eight weeks.

Diesel had set a record six straight weeks, reaching $2.212 on Oct. 25. It had increased 34.3 cents over the past seven weeks, and despite the most recent decline, was 72.5 cents higher than a year earlier.

Also Monday, crude oil for December delivery fell $1.66, or 3.2%, to $50.10 a barrel at the close of floor trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell below $50 during the trading session, the first time since Oct. 5.

Oil reached $55.67 on Oct. 25, the highest since futures began trading in 1983. Oil futures were 72% higher than a year earlier.

DOE also said Monday the average U.S. retail price for regular gasoline rose 0.2 cent to $2.034 a gallon. It is 49.9 cents higher than a year earlier and only 3 cents from the record high set on May 24.

Trucking burns an estimated 290 million gallons of gasoline each week.

he price of diesel dropped in all of its five major geographic regions with the exception of the Gulf Coast, where it rose another 0.3 cent to $2.147, DOE said. However, that remained the cheapest price for a gallon of diesel in the nation.

The largest decline of 1.3 cents was reported in the Midwest, where the price was $2.172. The price in California dipped to 0.6 cent, it remained the highest in the nation at $2.431.

Each week, DOE surveys 350 diesel-filling stations to compile a national snapshot price.