U.S. average diesel fuel price drops again, but pace slows

The average price for a gallon of diesel fuel across the U.S. has dropped again, for the seventh consecutive week, according to a Monday, Feb. 24, report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The decrease was less than a cent, though, which be a signal for change.

Weekly average prices for the U.S. have been dropping since Jan. 6.

California bucked the trend of decreasing average diesel prices, according to the EIA. There the average inched up less than a penny. Lower average prices were recorded for all other regions.

Average U.S. price for a gallon of diesel as reported by the EIA:

• U.S. – $2.882, down four-fifths of a cent.
• East Coast – $2.931, down nine-tenths of a cent.
• New England – $3.061, down nine-tenths of a cent.
• Central Atlantic – $3.117, down three-fifths of a cent.
• Lower Atlantic – $2.779, down 1.4 cents.
• Midwest – $2.756, down one-tenth of a cent.
• Gulf Coast – $2.654, down two-fifths of a cent.
• Rocky Mountain – $2.849, down nine-tenths of a cent.
• West Coast – $3.459, down nine-tenths of a cent.
• West Coast without California – $3.072, down nine-tenths of a cent.
• California – $3.778, up two-fifths of a cent.

ProMiles.com reports the average price for a gallon of diesel fuel in the U.S. on Monday, Feb. 24, was again lower than the previous week, this time 2 cents lower.

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.

While average decrease were recorded for most of the country, in the West Coast region without California, the average prices for a gallon of diesel bucked the trend. There the price increased 1 cent.

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

• U.S. – $2.77, down 2 cents.
• East Coast – $2.873, down 1.8 cents.
• New England – $3.043, down 1.1 cents.
• Central Atlantic – $3.07, down 1.5 cents.
• Lower Atlantic – $2.743, down 2 cents.
• Midwest – $2.721, down 2.5 cents.
• Gulf Coast – $2.628, down 1.5 cents.
• Rocky Mountain – $2.814, down 3.3 cents.
• West Coast – $3.245, down a half cent.
• West Coast less California – $3.019, up 1 cent.
• California – $3.601, down 1.7 cents.

Click here to view ProMiles fuel data averaged by state.

AAA reported the retail average U.S. price per gallon of diesel fuel at $2.873 for Monday, Feb. 24.

A week previous the average retail U.S. price for a gallon of diesel fuel was $2.882 per gallon.

A month previous, AAA reported $2.983 per gallon of diesel, and a year ago $2.72 per gallon.

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

Here is last week’s diesel fuel price report.