Diesel prices dropped slightly this week, hovering around the $2.22 per gallon mark for the third week in a row.


Weekly figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration released Monday showed the national average at $2.221 per gallon, down 8/10 of a cent from the previous week. Prices fell in every region tracked by EIA except for the Rocky Mountain region, where they jumped 2.4 cents per gallon to $2.274.

The highest average diesel prices were reported in the New England region at $2.403; the lowest in the Midwest at $2.166.

The national average is $1.922 lower than it was a year ago.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices fell to under $46 a barrel Monday, down $4.45 to $45.88 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Analysts said weaker stock markets and a stronger U.S. dollar may be encouraging investors to sell off oil futures, causing the price to drop. Discouraging global economic news was another factor. One analyst, reports Reuters, is predicting that crude oil futures will average just $35 per barrel in the second quarter, but will hit and average of $58 by the fourth quarter.