A gallon of diesel fuel slipped somewhat from last week, dropping 3.4 cents to $4.116 per gallon, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The national average price is 29.1 cents higher than at this time last year, or 7.6% higher,
reports the DOE's Energy Information Administration in its weekly report.

California's price fell 5.2 cents to $4.385, the most expensive price of all regions. The Gulf Coast price fell 2.3 cents to $3.999, the lowest price among all regions. Prices dropped in every region except New England, where they rose half a cent to $4.243.

Gasoline prices also fell, with the national average dropping 13.2 cents per gallon to $3.687 -- still 22.5 cents higher than a year ago. The highest prices are on the West Coast, counting California, at $4.245, but the rest of the country was below $4 per gallon, with the lowest prices in the Gulf Coast at $3.449.

The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil settled at $90.05 per barrel on Friday, $1.81 below a week earlier. Transcanada is set to reopen its Keystone pipelines soon, which should help ease tightening oil supplies. Compared with a year earlier, the price of WTI was up 3%.

On Monday, even though violence in Lebanon sparked fears of wider unrest in the Middle East, oil futures fell to their lowest level in two weeks. Light, sweet crude for November delivery settled lower by $1.32, or 1.5%, at $88.73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Concerns about weak oil demand here and abroad overwhelmed signs of worsening tensions in the Middle East.