As colder temperatures moved across the U.S. this past week, diesel pump prices dropped while gasoline prices held relatively steady.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported diesel prices largely fell nationwide the week of January 27, but not enough to make up for the significant spike the previous week. The nationwide U.S. on-highway diesel fuel price average was down 5 cents to $3.659 per gallon, a price point 20 cents cheaper than this time last year.
Regionally, diesel prices shifted by 1 to 8 cents. While prices fell in most areas, they crept up in the East Coast's New England and Central Atlantic sub-regions. New England diesel prices were up 1 cent to $3.961 per gallon, while the Central Atlantic was up almost 2 cents to $3.995.
As for the rest of the U.S., diesel costs dropped 1 cent on average for the entire East Coast and California. As a result, the East Coast’s diesel price average reached $3.805 per gallon, while California’s fell to $4.793.
The West Coast overall saw its diesel pump prices drop 3 cents to $4.274 per gallon, and the West Coast without California dropped 4 cents to $3.823. For the more significant price changes, the Rocky Mountain region saw its diesel prices decrease by 5 cents to $3.431 per gallon, while the Gulf Coast’s fell 7 cents to $3.378 and the Midwest’s dropped 8 cents to $3.568. With these changes in mind, the Gulf Coast is still the cheapest place to buy diesel fuel (with the Rocky Mountain region close behind) at $3.378 per gallon, and California is the most expensive at $4.793.
This week, the AAA motor club found its diesel price average close to the EIA’s, reporting $3.672 per gallon. This is 4 cents more expensive than last week’s $3.633 but 24 cents cheaper than last year’s $3.918 per gallon.
Read more: Gas, diesel prices surge upward as temps plummet
Gas prices sluggish, national average $3.10/gal
While diesel prices jumped significantly the week before, gas prices are steady. The national regular pump price average is $3.103 per gallon, the EIA found, which is down less than a cent from last week and up the same amount from last year. This sluggish response was mirrored across the country, as gas prices shifted only 4 cents at most this past week.
On the higher end of price changes, gasoline in the Midwest is down almost 4 cents to $2.946 per gallon. Besides this, the West Coast and the West Coast without California’s gas prices decreased by 1 cent to $3.881 and $3.511 per gallon, respectively. Every other larger region, including the East Coast, Gulf Coast, and the Rocky Mountain area, as well as California, all saw their gas prices rise by less than a cent. This left the East Coast’s prices at $3.076/gal, the Gulf Coast at $2.696, the Rocky Mountains at $2.920, and California at $4.221.
Similarly, the AAA’s gasoline average for January 27 was $3.122 per gallon, less than a cent than the motor club’s findings from last week. Even last year’s gas prices were only 2 cents less expensive than current prices, according to the motor club.
“The culprit for the pop in prices is likely old man Winter,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. “It’s a little harder to distribute gasoline in bad weather, and refineries don’t operate well in freezing temperatures either.”
