Diesel Average Falls 14.4 Cents to $2.713

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iesel fuel’s average national price fell 14.4 cents to $2.713 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported Monday.

The average national price of gasoline fell 12.1 cents to $2.727 a gallon. Year over year, the average price of gas has dropped 28.9 cents.

Diesel’s decline, the largest since a 17.8-cent drop recorded Nov. 7, follows an 11-cent decrease last week. The price is 1.9 cents lower than a year ago.

Diesel’s average fell in all five national regions. In California, which DOE breaks out separately, the nation’s main trucking fuel fell 12.3 cents to $3.002.

Meanwhile, crude oil futures gained 48 cents to close at $63.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, rising amid worry that continuing disputes over Iran’s nuclear program could prompt the world’s fourth-largest oil producer to restrict supplies, Bloomberg reported.

In addition, BP said its Thunder Horse oil platform, which sustained storm-related damage during last year’s Atlantic hurricane season, will not begin production until 2008. The platform, which is designed to produce about 250,000 barrels a day, has been troubled by repair delays, Bloomberg reported.

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