Diesel Price Falls Again; Lowest Since Dec. '99

The national average price for diesel fuel fell 1.9 cents per gallon to $1.291 – the lowest price since Dec. 20, 1999, when it was $1.287, the Department of Energy said on Monday.

The price has declined steadily for seven straight weeks, shedding 23.6 cents per gallon in the process.

The price of gasoline also fell last week, shedding 2.9 cents a gallon to finish at $1.206 for the week.

Although most commercial trucking is done with large, diesel-powered trucks, a significant portion is carried out using gasoline-powered vehicles -- therefore the price of both fuels is important to the trucking industry.

Limited travel on account of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is cited as one of the main reasons that not only diesel fuel, but other petroleum products, have seen significant price declines.

One of the other major factors is the drop in the price of crude oil. According to news services, the price for the benchmark Brent crude oil fell 40 cents in international trading Monday, to $19.37 per barrel. Last week, the price hit a 52-week low at $19.04 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the largest decline in the price of diesel fuel was seen in the Rocky Mountain Petroleum Administration for Defense District, where it fell 3.8 cents per gallon to $1.342.

Diesel declined in all of the DOE’s Energy Information Administration's districts and subdistricts by at least one full cent, with the exception of the Central Atlantic subdistrict of the East Coast district, where the price fell only 0.9 cent per gallon.

Other significant price changes occurred in the Midwest and Gulf Coast, where the price fell 2.3 cents and 2.1 cents per gallon, respectively.

The lowest average diesel prices can still be found in the Lower Atlantic subdistrict of the East Coast, where it is $1.222, after a 1.4 cents per gallon drop.

The EIA surveys about 350 fueling stations at the start of each week, and usually reports the results on the same day that it polls the stations.