Diesel fuel prices have continued to fall since a mild spike at the beginning of July, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In the six weeks since, diesel prices have gradually dropped, and this week is no exception as prices continue to dip ahead of fall.
The national average for U.S. on-highway diesel fuel prices is $3.688 per gallon, down 1 cent from last week and 70 cents from last year. Similarly, the rest of the country saw diesel prices drop from less than a cent to 4 cents.
The Midwest saw the most negligible change in diesel prices, where costs fell less than a cent to $3.674 per gallon. The West Coast without California was in a similar boat where its costs dropped less than a cent to $3.905 per gallon. At a slightly better rate (but not by much), the West Coast and Gulf Coast saw their diesel costs drop by 1 cent to $4.294 and $3.355, respectively.
On the upper end, California’s diesel prices dropped 2 cents to $4.739 per gallon, as did the East Coast’s down to $3.757. The Rocky Mountain region’s diesel costs fared best this week, dipping 5 cents to $3.650 per gallon. The Gulf Coast is still the cheapest place for diesel fuel at $3.355, while California is the most expensive at $4.739 per gallon.
However, as a means of comparison, the AAA motor club ranked the average cost of diesel at about 5 cents higher than the EIA at $3.733. This price is also 2 cents cheaper than last week’s diesel costs, according to the AAA, and 61 cents cheaper than costs at this time last year.
Gas prices fall to levels not seen since March
As for gasoline, costs continued to fall nationwide, save for the Rocky Mountain region. The average retail U.S. cost of gas is $3.382 per gallon, according to the EIA. This is 3 cents cheaper than last week and 48 cents cheaper than this time last year.
See also: Fuel prices down ahead of fall, national diesel average at $3.70/gal
For the rest of the country, price changes vacillated from less than a cent to 7 cents altogether. The Rocky Mountain region’s gas costs jumped 5 cents to $3.471 per gallon this week, but it was the exception. In stark comparison, the Midwest’s gas costs dropped 7 cents to $3.322 while the East Coast’s gas prices fell 2 cents to $3.299 per gallon. On the smaller side, California, the West Coast without California, and along the West Coast overall, prices only fell 1 cent, leaving California with gas prices of $4.318, the West Coast without California at $3.774, and the West Coast overall with gas prices of $4.058 per gallon.
This leaves the Gulf Coast as the cheapest place for gas at $3.996 per gallon while California is the most expensive.
The AAA’s gas price reckoning is still higher than the EIA’s for this week at $3.411, but it still dropped 3 cents from this time last week and is a far cry from the national average gas price at this time last year ($3.869 per gallon).
So far, the motor club isn’t yet anticipating the upward price pressure that typically arrives with fall, although fuel prices may yet deviate from their crawl downward based on storm conditions.
“Summer is wrapping up soon, and so far, gas prices have barely wobbled,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. “But we still have a long way to go with hurricane season, so it’s too soon to declare that pump prices have started their usual Autumn swoon.”
