Diesel Drops to $3.835; Price Lowest in Nine Months
The national average price of retail diesel fuel dipped 0.8 cent to $3.835 a gallon, the lowest level in nine months, the Department of Energy reported Aug. 18.
The seventh straight diesel decline left trucking’s main fuel 6.5 cents below the corresponding week last year.
Diesel, which has fallen 2.3 cents in August, is down 18.6 cents since topping out at $4.021 in early March, its highest level in almost a year.
Diesel declined to the lowest level since Nov. 18, when the average retail price was $3.822 a gallon, according to DOE figures.
Gasoline fell 3.3 cents, to $3.472 a gallon, DOE said after its weekly survey of filling stations. Gas also has declined for seven straight weeks, falling almost 23.2 cents in that period.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil for September delivery decreased 94 cents, or 1%, to $96.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Volume was 2.5% below the 100-day average, Bloomberg News reported.
Each week, DOE surveys about 400 diesel filling stations and 800 gasoline stations to compile national average prices.
