Diesel Dips 0.6¢ to $3.848 a Gallon

Diesel fell less than a penny, dipping 0.6 cent to $3.848 a gallon, its first downturn in three weeks, the Department of Energy said Monday.

Gasoline also fell, slipping 0.2 cent to $3.389 a gallon, its first decline in five weeks, DOE said following its weekly surveys of filling stations.

Diesel’s decline left its national average price 41.8 cents higher than the same week last year, while gas is 27.9 cents over a year ago.

Trucking’s main fuel had gained 7.1 in the two previous weeks of declines, following a cumulative drop of 22.7 cents in six straight weekly declines.

Gasoline had gained 16.2 cents in four straight increases prior to Monday, DOE records showed.

Oil rose $1.25 Monday to close the trading day at $99.58 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Crude finished last week at a three-week low under $99 a barrel, Bloomberg reported.

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