December 1, 2003 4:00 PM, EST

Diesel Price Falls 1.5 Cents to $1.476, DOE Says

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he U.S. Department of Energy said Monday the average retail price of diesel fuel declined 1.5 cents to $1.476 per gallon.

The decline was the same amount as the total increase in commercial trucking's dominant fuel over the two prior weeks. Diesel is 6.9 cents higher than the corresponding week a year earlier, according to DOE figures.

DOE also said Monday the average price for regular unleaded gasoline fell 2.2 cents to $1.49 a gallon.

About one-third of commercial trucking uses gasoline. The decline was the 12th in the past 14 weeks.

Meanwhile, the price of crude oil fell Monday on speculation that the OPEC oil cartel would leave production quotas unchanged at its meeting later this week.

Crude oil for January delivery fell 46 cents to $29.95 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

DOE also said the price of diesel decreased in each of its five main geographic regions, with the largest dip of 2.1 cents to $1.448 coming in the Midwest.

Although the price in California inched up 0.5 cent, the overall price along the West Coast grouping of states dropped 0.7 cent to $1.605.

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