Diesel Falls 14.5¢ to $2.664
Diesel fuel’s national average price continued its downward trend, falling 14.5 cents to $2.664 a gallon, the Department of Energy said Monday.
The downturn left trucking’s main fuel 78 cents below the same week last year, DOE said following its weekly survey of filling stations.
Gasoline, meanwhile, fell below $2 for the first time in more than two and a half years, declining 18 cents to $1.892, leaving it $1.205 below a year ago.
The price was the lowest since Jan. 24, 2005, when it was $1.853 a gallon, and gas has now declined by $2.22 since its $4.114 record set on July 7.
Diesel is at its lowest level since it was $2.626 a gallon on March 5, 2007, and it has fallen more than $2 since topping out at a record $4.764 on July 14.
Crude oil, which had slid to below $50 last week for the first time in almost two years, rose nearly 10% on Monday, gaining $4.57 to close at $54.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg reported.
The increase was the biggest one-day gain since Nov. 4, and analysts told Bloomberg that the government’s announced plan Monday to bail out banking giant Citigroup was helping to free up credit and allow businesses to boost purchases.
Each week, DOE surveys about 350 diesel filling stations to compile a national snapshot average price.
