Average Diesel Price Down for Second Straight Week

After heading higher for three straight weeks, the average cost of diesel has fallen for the second consecutive week, according to the U.S. Energy Department.

It has shed 1.3 cents from a week ago, registering $3.873 per gallon, which is also 2.9 cents lower than the price from the same time a year ago.

Prices fell most all regions of the country, but increased overall in the East Coast region, adding 0.6 cent from last week for an average of $3.946, along with moving higher in two of the three parts that make up this section of the country.

Diesel ranges from a low of $3.771 in the Gulf Coast region, down 0.9 cent from the past week and 6 cents less than a year ago, to a high of $4.118 in the New England part of the East Coast region, up 1.1 cent from last week, but down 4 cents from a year earlier.

Compared to a year ago, prices in all but one region are down between 1.5 cent and 7.5 cents, but it is 18.2 cents higher in the Rocky Mountain states.

As for gasoline, the average cost is down 3.1 cents over the past week to $3.296 per gallon, which is 1.9 cent lower than a year ago.

Prices fell in all regions of the country and range from $3.103 in the Gulf Coast region to $3.492 along the West Coast.

Release of the report was delayed due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday.

As for crude oil, it added 62 cents in Tuesday trading in New York, settling at $94.99 per barrel, following news from the International Energy Agency that global oil demand this year is expected to increase 1.3 million barrels to 92.5 million per day, following a 1.2 million barrel per day increase last year.

Compared to a week ago Monday, the closing price on Tuesday is up nearly 2.40 per barrel.