Average U.S. diesel fuel price surges 2.8 cents

December 30, 2019

Land Line Staff

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The year 2019 comes to an end with the average price for a gallon of diesel fuel going up 2.8 cents on Monday, Dec. 30, from the Monday previous, according to a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

In fact, average prices increased for every region and subregion except one: the Rocky Mountain region. There the average price went down 1.4 cents.

In the last Monday report for the year, three regions had average diesel fuel prices of less than $3 per gallon: the Lower Atlantic, Midwest and Gulf Coast.

The West Coast’s increase on Monday snapped a six-week run of consecutive average price cuts.

California remains the region and state with the highest average diesel fuel price. The Gulf Coast region has the lowest average price in the U.S.

Average U.S. diesel fuel prices as reported by the EIA:

  • U.S. – $3.069, up 2.8 cents.
  • East Coast – $3.096, up 4.4 cents.
  • New England – $3.114, up 1.6 cents.
  • Central Atlantic – $3.271, up 2.6 cents.
  • Lower Atlantic – $2.975, up 6.2 cents.
  • Midwest – $2.978, up 1 a cent.
  • Gulf Coast – $2.808, up 4.5 cents.
  • Rocky Mountain – $3.113, down 1.4 cents.
  • West Coast – $3.623, up 2.9 cents.
  • West Coast without California – $3.274, up 2.2 cents.
  • California – $3.899, up 3.3 cents.

ProMiles.com reports the average diesel price per gallon of U.S. diesel on Monday, Dec. 30, increased a penny from the week before.

ProMiles, the software company that maintains the websites ProMiles.com and TruckMiles.com, offers its own weekly fuel price information. The company’s fuel price data are presented in the same format used by the EIA in the agency’s weekly reports. The prices include a national average as well as regional averages, and comparisons to the previous week and the previous year.

A key difference between the EIA and ProMiles reporting is the type and number of fueling stations the company surveys in order to calculate its averages. While EIA surveys 400 truck stops and convenience stores nationwide, ProMiles uses its direct feed from thousands of truck stops to develop its averages.

Not only did the U.S. average increase by a penny from a week ago, so did nearly all regions. The exceptions were the Rocky Mountain region, where the average dropped 1.7 cents, and the West Coast without California, where the average dropped a small fraction of a cent.

Here are the average U.S. diesel fuel prices reported for each region by ProMiles.com:

  • U.S. – $2.966, up 1.1 cents.
  • East Coast – $3.046, up 2.2 cents.
  • New England – $3.086, up 1.1 cents.
  • Central Atlantic – $3.255, up 1.4 cents.
  • Lower Atlantic – $2.928, up 2.4 cents.
  • Midwest – $2.931, up seven-tenths of a cent.
  • Gulf Coast – $2.773, up three-tenths of a cent.
  • Rocky Mountain – $3.113, down 1.7 cents.
  • West Coast – $3.418, up three-fifths of a cent.
  • West Coast less California – $3.231, down one-tenth of a cent.
  • California – $3.72, up 1.9 cents.

Click here to view ProMiles fuel data averaged by state.

AAA reported the retail average U.S. diesel fuel price per gallon at $3.003 for Monday, Dec. 30.

A week previous the average retail U.S. diesel fuel price was $2.994 per gallon.

A month previous, AAA reported $3.008 per gallon of diesel, and a year ago $3.01 per gallon.

The highest recorded retail average U.S. diesel fuel price was $4.845 per gallon on July 17, 2008, according to AAA.

Past year of prices from EIA

Here are the average U.S. diesel fuel prices reported on the last Monday of the month for the past year starting Dec. 31, 2018. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration.

  • Dec. 31, 2018 – $3.048
  • Jan. 28, 2019 – $2.965
  • Feb. 25, 2019 – $3.048
  • March 25, 2019 – $3.08
  • Apr. 29, 2019 – $3.169
  • May 27, 2019 – $3.151
  • June 24, 2019 – $3.043
  • July 29, 2019 – $3.034
  • Aug. 26, 2019 – $2.983
  • Sept. 30, 2019 – $3.066
  • Oct. 28, 2019 – $3.064
  • Nov. 25, 2019 – $3.066
  • Dec. 30, 2019 – $3.069