Diesel Drops 8.4¢ to $3.875; Gas Plunges 14.8¢ to $3.484
After a one-week pause in its downward trend last week, diesel resumed its decline, falling 8.4 cents to $3.875 a gallon, the Department of Energy said Monday.
The downturn — the 11th in 12 weeks since the record $4.764 set July 14 — left trucking’s main fuel 84 cents higher than the same week a year ago.
Monday’s price was 89 cents below the July record and the lowest since March 10, according to DOE figures.
Gasoline plunged 14.8 cents to $3.484 a gallon, its 12th drop in 13 weeks, with the decline interrupted only by an 18.7-cent gain in early September.
Gas is now 63 cents below the record $4.114 set on July 7 and 71.4 cents higher than the same week last year.
The pump-price declines have paralleled a steep drop in crude oil, which has fallen 40% since its $145.29 closing-price record on the New York Mercantile Exchange on July 3.
Oil closed at $88.15 a barrel on the Nymex Monday, the first time crude has closed below $90 since February, Bloomberg reported.
Diesel’s price fell in all five national regions, led by a 9.4-cent drop on the West Coast to $3.847 and a 9.2-cent decline on the East Coast to $3.928.
Each week, DOE surveys about 350 diesel filling stations to compile a national snapshot average price.
