Diesel Fuel Price Falls 8.3 Cents; Gasoline Down 6.9 Cents
The national average price of diesel fuel dropped 8.3 cents per gallon last week to $1.39 per gallon, the second-lowest level of the year, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. At the same time, gasoline’s average retail price fell 6.9 cents per gallon to $1.416.The drop in the price of diesel fuel is the largest since the Energy Information Administration began keeping records of the week-to-week price in March 1994, according Jonathon Cogan, spokesman for the EIA.
As for gasoline, the Oct. 1 price was 10.8 cents below the price in the corresponding week last year.
Following 10 straight weeks of decline this summer, the diesel price began inching upwards and peaked at $1.527 per gallon the week after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. That was 0.2 cent below the year-high set back on May 28. However, the current price is now approaching the year-low of $1.379, set on March 26.
The price of diesel fell significantly in every one of the DOE’s Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts, and in all of the DOE’s sub districts, as did the price of gasoline.
Leading the way were the Midwest district and California sub-district, with declines of just over 10 cents per gallon in diesel fuel. The Midwest price stands at 1.412 per gallon, while it is $1.510 in California, still the highest in the United States.
The Gulf Coast saw the price fall 7.8 cents to $1.326, the lowest of the DOE's five districts, followed by the East Coast at $1.355. The East Coast's Lower Atlantic sub-district, which includes Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia, registered the lowest price at $1.308.
For gasoline, the biggest week-to-week drop came in the Midwest district, where the price fell 12.8 cents per gallon, to $1.403. In the Gulf Coast, the price went down 5.1 cents per gallon.
The EIA surveys 350 fueling stations at the start of each week, and usually reports the results on the same day that it polls the stations.
7919
