The price of diesel has fallen, putting the U.S. average close to where it was just four weeks ago.

In its weekly report, the U.S. Energy Department says it is down 2 cents over the past week to $3.849 per gallon, its third consecutive weekly decline. This is 6.8 cents higher than the same time a year ago.

Prices fell in all regions and sub-regions of the country, with the biggest recorded in the Midwest and West Coast regions. The West Coast price fell 2.3 cents to $3.945. The average Midwest price is $3.877 per gallon, which is 18.1 cents per gallon higher than the same time a year ago. Most regions and sub-regions are within a nickel of their price from a year earlier.

Prices range from a low of $3.748 in the Gulf Coast region, down 2.2 cents, to a high of $3.978 in the New England sub-region of the East Coast region.

In contrast, the average U.S. cost for gasoline has increased over the past week, adding 0.9 cents per gallon for an average of $3.655. Last week it increased 0.1 cent from the previous week. It’s 8.3 cents per gallon higher than the same week a year ago.

Prices increased in the New England and Lower Atlantic sub-regions of the East Coast region, as well as in the overall East Coast region, along with the Midwest.

Gasoline ranges between a low of $3.339 in the Gulf Coast states to $3.878 along the West Coast. Prices in all regions, but the Midwest and West Coast, are no more than a dime higher or lower than where they were the same time a year earlier. Midwest prices are 32.9 cents higher while those for the West Coast are 21.5 cents per gallon lower.

Crude oil prices in New York trading fell 26 cents on Monday, settling at $95.77 per barrel, but they're up compared to a week ago by more than $2. The price surged on Thursday on news that U.S. jobless claims were down last week, followed by news on Friday that U.S. payrolls increased by 175,000 people in May from the month before, despite the unemployment rate being just a bit higher. 

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Evan Lockridge

Evan Lockridge

Former Business Contributing Editor

Trucking journalist since 1990, in the news business since early ‘80s.

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