As the holiday week opened, diesel prices continued their recent downward trend, while gasoline prices crept back upward.

The Department of Energy's Information Administration reported a nationwide drop of 2.2 cents in the price of a gallon diesel earlier this week. The average price was $3.92 per gallon.


The steepest decrease in diesel and the cheapest overall prices were seen in the Rocky Mountain region, where prices fell 7.5 cents per gallon to rest at $3.79.

The most expensive diesel prices can still be found on the East Coast, specifically in the New England and Central Atlantic regions, where prices are still over the $4-mark.

Kevin Brown, fleet manager at Conley Trucking outside of Buffalo, N.Y., last week said diesel prices were $4.23 per gallon, well above the average reported for the region. "We have had some of the highest prices in New York ... and yet much closer to suppliers than most," he said.

Gasoline prices climbed incrementally across the nation by 0.3 cents to land at $3.26 per gallon. The cheapest gasoline prices can be found in the Gulf Coast region at $3.10 per gallon.

Crude oil, meanwhile jumped up by $2.37 to $90.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange yesterday, the highest settlement since Oct. 18, as President Obama and Congress return to Washington today to discuss how to avoid more than $600 billion in expiring tax cuts and mandatory spending cuts scheduled for January -- aka the "fiscal cliff."