October 11, 2006 10:55 AM, EDT

Diesel Average Falls 4 Cents to $2.506

Oil Closes at Lowest Level Since Mid-February

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iesel fuel’s average national price fell 4 cents to $2.506 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported Monday.

Meanwhile, gasoline’s national average price fell 4.9 cents to $2.261, down 58.7 cents from a year ago.

The department made its weekly report Tuesday after being closed Monday in observance of the Columbus Day federal holiday.

Diesel’s eighth-straight weekly decline follows a 4.9-cent drop last week. Prices are 64.4 cents lower than a year ago.

Diesel’s average fell in all five national regions. In California, which DOE breaks out separately, the nation’s main trucking fuel fell 8.4 cents to $2.751.

Meanwhile, crude oil futures fell below $59 a barrel to their lowest level since February 16 as Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company told customers in Japan and Europe it would deliver the same amount of oil in November as it did in October, Bloomberg reported.

Reports of a steady Saudi supply helped drive oil prices down after a brief rally last week that was sparked by Thursday’s news that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would hold an emergency meeting October 18 to discuss production cuts, Bloomberg said.

OPEC is still mulling a proposed cut of 1 million barrels a day, Bloomberg reported.

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