Retail Diesel Price Drops a Nickel to $2.342

he average retail price of diesel fuel fell for a second straight week, dropping 5 cents to $2.342 a gallon, the Department of Energy said Monday.

The decrease followed a 1.6-cent drop last Monday and was the second-biggest one-week decline this year following a 5.7-cent drop on April 18, when it fell from a then-record $2.316 to $2.259.

Meanwhile, average regular gasoline prices fell 2.8 cents to $2.289 a gallon, also the second consecutive dip, DOE reported. Both fuels were coming off all-time record highs set July 11; diesel's record was $2.408 while gasoline had topped out at $2.328.

Trucking's primary fuel is 58.8 cents higher than this time last year, adding $390 million in costs to the industry at a weekly burn rate of 665 million gallons.

The price drop followed lower crude oil prices last week as DOE’s weekly inventory report showed stronger-than-expected distillate inventories, which include diesel.

Benchmark light sweet crude oil futures fell 48 cents last week and some forecasts called for more declines this week, based on positive inventory reports, Bloomberg reported.

Benchmark light sweet crude oil rose 20 cents Tuesday to close at $59.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

DOE reported that diesel prices fell in four of five regions surveyed, while it was unchanged on the West Coast at $2.53 a gallon, the nation’s highest average. California, which DOE breaks out separately from the five regions, saw its prices fall 1.1 cents to $2.578.

The Midwest had the largest drop, down 6.9 cents to $2.292, DOE said. The Rocky Mountain region’s price fell 2.5 cents to $2.405, the Gulf Coast price dropped 5.3 cents to $2.278 and the East Coast average dipped 4.7 cents to $2.365.

Each week DOE surveys 350 filling stations to compile a national snapshot retail price.