Diesel Falls 1.6¢ to $2.185
The national average price of diesel fuel fell for a third consecutive week, dropping 1.6 cents to $2.185, the Department of Energy said Monday.
The decline brings trucking's main fuel down to $1.964 below the same week last year, according to DOE figures.
Diesel had hit a four-month high of $2.229 last month before falling for three weeks.
The 13.1-cent jump in the last week in March was the biggest since last Memorial Day, when it spiked 22.6 cents on its run toward the $4.764 record set in last July.
The price of gasoline, however, increased 2.9 cents to $2.078, following a drop of 1 cent the week before, DOE said following its weekly survey of filling stations.
The increase left the price of gasoline $1.535 below the same week last year and $2.036 below the record $4.114 set last July 7.
Crude oil rose Monday to its highest level in five weeks, rising $1.27 per barrel, or 2.4%, to $54.47 per barrel at the 2:30 p.m. close of floor trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg reported.
Each week, DOE surveys about 350 diesel filling stations to compile a national snapshot average price.
