Diesel Falls 2.2¢ to $3.897 in Fourth Decline
Diesel’s national average price fell another 2.2 cents to $3.897 a gallon, continuing its downward trend in a fourth straight decline, the Department of Energy reported.
The drop followed a combined 5.5-cent downturn in the past two weeks. Including this week’s survey, the price has dropped 8.4 cents in the past month, DOE figures showed.
Gasoline, meanwhile, fell for a fifth week, dropping 5.8 cents to $3.367 a gallon, DOE said following its weekly survey of filling stations.
The gas drop followed last week’s 7-cent decline, and the motor fuel has plunged 24.1 cents in its five recent declines, DOE figures showed.
Trucking’s main fuel is now 19.7 cents below the same week last year, while gas is 48.3 cents below a year ago.
DOE released its weekly national average fuel-price surveys despite the ongoing federal government shutdown.
A DOE official in Washington told Transport Topics on Monday that the department’s Energy Information Administration, which releases the survey, was “fortunate enough to have sufficient funding that wasn’t tied to any year’s appropriations, which allowed us to keep operating.”
But, he added, after this week it is uncertain if the EIA will be able to release its weekly fuel price survey, due to the shutdown.
Each week, DOE surveys about 400 diesel filling stations and 800 gasoline stations to compile national average prices.
