Diesel Falls for Fourth Week; Drops 8.9 Cents to $2.513
he average U.S. retail price of diesel fuel fell for the fourth straight week, declining 8.9 cents to $2.513 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported Monday.
The decline followed drops of 9.6 cents last week, 17.8 cents two weeks ago and 28.1 cents three weeks ago, bringing the four-week decline in the price of trucking's main fuel to 64.4 cents.
Diesel had reached a record $3.157 a gallon on Oct. 24.
Gasoline has plunged 72.7 cents since Oct. 3 and 86.8 cents since hitting a record $3.069 a gallon on Sept. 5 following Hurricane Katrina, according to DOE figures.
The downward retail prices followed declines in crude oil prices last week to below $57 a barrel — well below the $70.85 record set Aug. 30 following Hurricane Katrina.
Crude oil futures rose 49 cents Monday to $57.70 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg reported.
The average diesel price was 39.7 cents higher than the same week last year, while gasoline was 25.3 cents higher than a year ago, according to DOE figures.
Diesel prices dove 11.8 cents in California, which DOE breaks out separately from its five regions, to $2.599 a gallon.
The highest price among the regions was the Rocky Mountains, where the price fell 8.6 cents to $2.654, just above the West Coast's $2.652, down 8.6 cents from last week.
The lowest price was Midwest, which fell 9.8 cents to $2.477, DOE said. The East Coast and Gulf Coast regions had identical average prices of $2.491 a gallon.
ach week, DOE surveys 350 diesel filling stations to compile a national snapshot average price.
