Diesel Prices Continue Slide, Down 6 Cents to $1.602 a Gallon

The national average price of diesel fuel fell another 6 cents a gallon to $1.602, the Department of Energy reported Monday.

In the two fuel average reports since the outbreak of war in Iraq on March 20, diesel prices have fallen by 15 cents a gallon combined.

The decline was also the third straight decline after eight weeks of increases, DOE said.

Leading up the war, fears about supply interruptions helped push the prices of crude oil and motor fuels like gasoline and diesel higher.

Gasoline prices also fell, the DOE said Monday, shedding 4.1 cents a gallon to average out at $1.649.

The largest price decline was seen in the Central Atlantic states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. In that region, diesel prices fell 7.2 cents a gallon to $1.796.

All along the East Coast, including the Central Atlantic average, diesel prices fell just 4.9 cents a gallon to $1.692, DOE’s Energy Information Administration. A relatively small decline of 3.7 cents a gallon in the Lower Atlantic region helped slow the decline on the East Coast.

The average regional decline was 5.8 cents a gallon, EIA reported.

Each week, EIA surveys 350 diesel-filling stations around the country, compiling a snapshot of fuel prices nationwide.