Diesel Average Drops 1.6 Cents to $2.565 a Gallon

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

he nationwide average retail price of diesel fuel fell 1.6 cents to $2.565 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported Monday.

Meanwhile the average price of gasoline dipped 0.6 cent to $2.498 a gallon, DOE said following its weekly survey of filling stations.

The downturns followed last week’s jumps of 3.8 cents for diesel and 13.8 cents for gasoline. Last week’s diesel price of $2.581 was the highest since Nov. 14, according to DOE figures.

The trucking industry burns about 700 million gallons of diesel and 290 million gallons of gasoline each week, according to American Trucking Associations estimates.

With this week’s diesel price 31.6 cents over the same week last year, that’s an additional cost to the trucking industry of $221 million for the week.

Gasoline’s 34.5-cent level over last year would be an additional cost of $100 million.

Prices fell in all of DOE’s regions, led by a 2.4-cent decline on the Gulf Coast to $2.528 and a 2-cent drop on the East Coast to $2.586 a gallon.

The West Coast remained the highest region overall, dropping 1.8 cents to $2.698. California, which DOE breaks out separately, was even higher, at $2.727 though showing a 1.1-cent dip.

Each week, DOE surveys 350 diesel filling stations to compile a national snapshot average price.