Diesel Inches Lower; Crude Rises With Equities

The national average price of diesel didn't fall as sharply this week, slipping only 0.4 cents to $2.899 a gallon, in the fuel's fourth straight weekly decline

, according to weekly figures released by the Department of Energy.

Over the previous three weeks, diesel had fallen 5.8 cents, but with this week's decline, diesel prices are down 6.2 cents since June 21, when diesel shot up 3.3 cents. This week's price is 40.3 cents higher than the same week last year.

Diesel was as high as $3.042 a gallon on the West Coast, which had the highest posting. The Gulf Coast and Lower Atlantic regions had the lowest prices, at $2.859 and $2.861 a gallon, respectively.

Meanwhile, crude oil traded slightly higher Monday, in sync with U.S. equities, according to reports by Dow Jones. Crude gained 53 cents, or 0.7 percent, to end the day at $76.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.