Average on-highway diesel fuel prices dipped below $3.90 per gallon for the first time since early February, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on May 6. This week's price of $3.894 per gallon is the lowest retail diesel price since January, down 5.3 cents from a week ago and 2.8 cents less than this week last year.
Pump prices for trucking’s primary fuel fell across every region in the nation this week, according to EIA. The Lower Atlantic (down 7.3 cents) and Midwest (down 6.8 cents) saw the most significant week-over-week declines. Average diesel prices along the East Coast, which includes New England, Central Atlantic, and Lower Atlantic subregions, fell below $4 per gallon for the first time since Jan. 22.
With average East Coast prices at $3.966 per gallon, the West Coast ($4.580/gal.) is the only major U.S. region with pump prices more than $4. Even if you exclude California’s highest-in-the-nation diesel prices of $5.155 per gallon, the West Coast average is $4.079 per gallon.
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This week, the Rocky Mountain region saw the slightest change—down just 0.2 cents to $3.785 per gallon. The Gulf Coast remains the region with the cheapest fuel, down 4 cents this week to $3.617. However, the Gulf Coast average is up a bit, 0.4 cents, compared to this week in 2023.
The AAA Motor Club is still tracking average diesel prices higher than the EIA. On May 6, AAA reported a $3.97 per gallon national diesel average, down from $4.003 a week ago and less than the $4.063 average a year ago.
2024 gasoline pump prices remain more expensive than 2023
While diesel prices fell across the U.S. to open the first full week of May, gasoline prices were mixed. Average U.S. gas pump prices fell a penny to $3.643 per gallon on May 6, according to EIA. That price for the consumer and work truck fuel is 11 cents more than this time last year.
The Gulf Coast, also home to the cheapest unleaded fuel prices in the U.S., saw the most significant price jump this week. Up 5.2 cents, the average Gulf Coast gas price was $3.244 per gallon on May 6—19.9 cents more than a year ago. East Coast average prices were up less than a penny this week but stand 12.2 cents more than 52 weeks ago. Midwest prices fell 5.7 cents on average this week and sit about even with its average price a year ago.
The Rocky Mountains, where average gas prices are up 3.7 cents this week, is the only major U.S. region where the fuel is cheaper this week than it was the first week of May 2023. Prices there average $3.463 per gallon.
AAA’s tracking put regular gasoline at $3.651 per gallon on May 6, less than a cent more per gallon than EIA’s figures.
“From a demand perspective, we have entered the pre-Memorial Day funk,” said Andrew Gross, a AAA spokesperson. “And the cost of a barrel of oil is nearly $10 less than two weeks ago, as oil prices have fallen into the upper $70s. This may keep pump prices somewhat flat for the immediate future.”
According to EIA data, gas demand rose slightly from 8.42 million b/d to 8.62 last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks increased by 0.4 million bbl to 227.1 million bbl. Tepid demand, increasing supply, and falling oil prices could lower pump prices.
