Diesel price average slips again, down 3.3 cents

Diesel prices have dropped for the second consecutive week, falling back below $2.50 per gallon.

The average U.S. retail pump price for diesel was down 3.3 cents in the Oct. 26 report by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), to $2.498 per gallon. The price is about $1.14 per gallon cheaper than this time last year.

California posted the only regional increase, but the price there was up on a half penny to $2.813, but that’s still the highest price in the contiguous 48 states. Otherwise on the West Coast diesel was down 0.9 cents to $2.567.

The largest decrease was in the Midwest where the cost fell 6 cents to $2.54, this follows an increase of 14.5 cents two weeks earlier based on refinery capacity issues and seasonal agricultural demand.

The Lower Atlantic posted a 3.1 cent drop to $2.396, while the Central Atlantic region saw the price fall 2.2 cents to $2.62. In New England diesel was down 0.9 cents, bringing the price of gallon to $2.553

The Rocky mountain region saw a 1.5 cent decline to $2.508, and the Gulf Coast reported a 2.6 cent drop to $2.299, the lowest price for a gallon of diesel in the nation.