The cost of a gallon of diesel plummeted 16.4 cents this week to a nationwide average of $5.268, marking the fifth week in a row the price has trended downward, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Prices are trending downward in tandem with consumers’ confidence in the economy as fewer people fuel up for summer travel. Likewise, the price of crude oil is dropping along with demand as the chances of recession steadily rise.
The diesel price for the week of July 25 is 51.5 cents cheaper than the last week of June but $1.926 more expensive than a year ago.
Gasoline has fallen similarly to an average of $4.33 per gallon, a 16-cent drop from last week. Gas is $1.194 higher than one year ago.
Diesel prices have continued to fall in every region of the United States, even falling below five dollars to $4.911 per gallon in the Gulf Coast, the first region to see prices below five dollars since April. Every other region still averages a price above five dollars per gallon, and California is still well above six dollars at $6.389.
Motor club AAA, which measures its prices daily whereas the EIA measures its prices weekly, pegged the national average price of diesel at $5.365 on July 27. This is a 13.2-cent drop from the week before and a 42.9-cent drop from a month ago, and $2.091 higher than a year ago. AAA’s highest-recorded diesel price was $5.816 per gallon on June 19, 45.1 cents higher than the current price.
AAA measures regular unleaded gasoline to average at $4.302 per gallon nationally for July 27. This is 16.5 cents lower than last week's average of $4.467 and 59.5 cents lower than last month's average of $4.897. Gasoline prices peaked at $5.016 on June 14, 71.4 cents higher than the most recent average. A year ago gasoline averaged $3.158 per gallon, $1.144 less than the most recent price.
“Consumers appear to be taking the pressure off their wallets by fueling up less,” said AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross. “And there’s reason to be cautiously optimistic that pump prices will continue to fall, particularly if the global price for oil does not spike. But the overall situation remains very volatile.”
The price of crude oil has continued to trend downward, remaining below $100 per barrel. The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was $95.60 as the market opened July 27. This is slightly lower than a week ago, where it opened at $99.91 on July 20, a difference of $4.31. Oil had recently peaked at $122 for WTI June 7.
