The average price of a gallon of diesel fell for the second week in a row, to $3.995, a little less than a penny drop from the previous week, according to weekly figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.


The average price, which is $1.115 higher than it was a year ago, fell in all regions except the Rocky Mountains and the West Coast.

The highest average price was in the Central Atlantic region, at $4.142, followed by the New England region at $4.121. The lowest average was found on the Gulf Coast, with average prices of $3.894. The average price remained above $4 a gallon in the East Coast, New England, Central Atlantic and West Coast regions.

Don't be surprised, however, if prices start back up again. Crude oil jumped nearly $3 a barrel to past $109 on the New York Mercantile Exchange Monday. To blame was a fire at a European refinery, along with the continued investment in commodities because of the weak dollar, according to published reports.

U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman wants the oil cartel OPEC to increase production, but OPEC representatives so far have said the market is well-supplied. The high prices, OPEC says, are not due to a crude oil shortage, but to the fall in the value of the U.S. dollar, shortage of refinery and political tensions in the Middle East.