Diesel Drops 1.2¢ to $3.623, Gas Falls Below $3
The average price of U.S. diesel dropped 1.2 cents to $3.623, and gasoline fell below $3 a gallon, the Department of Energy reported Nov. 3, as oil slid below $80 a barrel for the first time in more than two years.
The smallest decline in eight straight downturns left diesel 23.4 cents below the comparable week last year, DOE said after its weekly survey of filling stations.
Gasoline fell 6.3 cents to $2.993, marking the first time the motor fuel’s national average price has been less than $3 a gallon in almost four years.
Gas has plunged 71 cents since June and is 27.2 cents below a year ago. Its price was the lowest since it was $2.982 on Dec. 20, 2010.
Diesel, which has not increased since the end of June, has fallen almost 30 cents since then. The national average pump price is the lowest since it was $3.573 on Feb. 21, 2011.
Oil, meanwhile, fell $1.76 on Nov. 3 to finish the New York Mercantile Exchange trading day at $78.78 a barrel — the first time crude futures have closed below $80 since June 2012.
Each week, DOE surveys about 400 diesel filling stations and 800 gasoline stations to compile national average prices.
