Diesel prices have continued to decrease for the ninth week in a row, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. It is reasonable to expect some upward pressure on diesel prices in the fall, but that trend has yet to appear at the pump with the U.S. on-highway diesel fuel price average reaching $3.555 per gallon, a drop of 7 cents from last week and almost a dollar from this time last year.
Diesel costs continued to be kind to every region across the country, with every location seeing decreases of 1 to 8 cents. On the lower end, California’s diesel prices only fell 1 cent to $4.739, the Rocky Mountain area only dropped 2 cents to $3.567, and the West Coast overall saw a price drop of only 3 cents to $4.257.
At the upper end of the scale, the Midwest saw its diesel prices dip 8 cents to $3.528 per gallon, closely followed by the Gulf Coast at 7 cents to $3.508 and the East Coast overall at 6 cents to $3.619. With these changes in mind, the Gulf Coast is the cheapest place to buy diesel, while California remains the most expensive.
California’s consistently high prices are likely due to its taxes and as Matt Muenster, chief economist at Breakthrough, said, its distance from oil pipelines.
“California has a unique experience in the West Coast of not being particularly integrated with the pipeline infrastructure that services across the country, so they're more dependent on regional refining supplies and imports,” Muenster commented.
See also: Autumnal price increases may be on the horizon
As compared to to EIA’s diesel numbers, AAA motor club logged its current diesel cost average at $3.647, about 9 cents more expensive than the former. But the current price is 4 cents less expensive than last week’s number of $3.688 and 83 cents cheaper than last year’s average of $4.473.
Gas prices continue to fall except along the West Coast
The price of gas continued to fall, with the exception of the West Coast overall and California. Nationwide, EIA logged prices at $3.236, down 5 cents from a week ago and 58 cents from this time last year. Across the country, prices shifted from less than a cent to 9 cents between this week and last week.
For the West Coast overall, gas prices rose less than a cent to $4.104 and 4 cents to $4.450 per gallon in California. However, prices dropped 3 cents along the West Coast without California to $3.727 and by 4 cents along the Gulf Coast and Rocky Mountain regions. Gas prices currently average at $2.800 in the Gulf Coast and $3.357 per gallon in the Rocky Mountains. Gas cost shifts were more favorable in the Lower Atlantic subregion, where prices dropped almost 10 cents to $3.040, and 8 cents along the East Coast overall to $3.149. This leaves the Gulf Coast as the cheapest region for gas at $2.800 and California at the most expensive at $4.45 per gallon.
The motor club logged gas costs 4 cents higher than those reported by the EIA, at $3.270, a drop of 6 cents from last week. Gas prices were 55 cents higher at this time last year, according to AAA, and the weekly price decreases are something to celebrate.
“There are now 10 states with gasoline averages below $3 a gallon, which means thousands of retail outlets east of the Rockies are selling gas at similarly low prices,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson, in a press release. “With hurricane season remaining weak and disorganized, this trend of falling pump prices will likely continue.”
