Diesel Average Falls 3.2¢ to $2.782 Per Gallon; Eighth Consecutive Weekly Drop
Diesel’s national average price declined for the eighth consecutive week, dropping 3.2 cents to $2.782 per gallon, according to a report from the Department of Energy on July 20.
Diesel is $1.087 cheaper than a year ago, the agency reported after its weekly survey of filling stations.
It's the lowest price for diesel since April 20. Since its most recent peak of May 25 at $2.914, diesel has fallen 13.2 cents.
The eight-week stretch is the longest period of consecutive falling prices this year and the longest such streak since a 12-week period from Nov. 10, 2014, to Feb. 2, 2015, when the average price plunged 84.6 cents.
Coincidentally, the national average price for gasoline also fell by 3.2 cents, leaving it at $2.802, 2 cents higher than diesel for the second week in a row.
In California, where gas soared 44.8 cents a week ago, the price climbed again, but this time by just 1.7 cents. Nationally, gas still is 79.1 cents cheaper than a year ago.
Meanwhile, crude slumped below $50 a barrel in New York for the first time in more than three months on speculation that Iranian shipments will climb, extending a global glut. Bloomberg News reported that Iran Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said the country will focus on regaining oil sales it lost due to sanctions regardless of the impact on prices.
Under the nuclear agreement Iran and six world powers reached in Vienna last week, the United States agreed to end efforts to limit Iran’s oil sales.
