West Coast diesel fuel price drops again; U.S. price steady

The average prices for diesel fuel in the West Coast and Rocky Mountain regions were again lower from a week ago, according to the weekly report issued for Monday, Dec. 16, by the Energy Information Administration.

The average U.S. diesel price, however, changed little from one week ago.

Lower prices have been recorded for the West Coast every week starting Nov. 11, when the price was $3.758 per gallon. California’s average price also had decreased weekly starting Nov. 11, when the price was $4.014 per gallon.

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

• U.S. – $3.046, down three-tenths of a cent.
• East Coast – $3.053, up three-tenths of a cent.
• New England – $3.085, down one-fifth of a cent.
• Central Atlantic – $3.239, down one-fifth of a cent.
• Lower Atlantic – $2.921, up seven-tenths of a cent.
• Midwest – $2.97, up two-fifths of a cent.
• Gulf Coast – $2.763, up two-fifths of a cent.
• Rocky Mountain – $3.161, down 4.6 cents.
• West Coast – $3.616, down 3.1 cents.
• West Coast without California – $3.38, down 4.3 cents.
• California – $3.882, down 2.2 cents.

ProMiles.com reports the average diesel price per gallon of U.S. diesel on Monday, Dec. 16, dropped 1.5 cents from the week before. On the West Coast, however, diesel prices dropped by 6.2 cents per gallon and in California the price dropped 7.4 cents.

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.

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

• U.S. – $2.953, down 1.5 cents.
• East Coast – $3.015, down seven-tenths of a cent.
• New England – $3.071, down three-fifths of a cent.
• Central Atlantic – $3.238, down 1 cent.
• Lower Atlantic – $2.894, down three-fifths of a cent.
• Midwest – $2.919, down 1.1 cents.
• Gulf Coast – $2.774, down 1.5 cents.
• Rocky Mountain – $3.169, down 4 cents.
• West Coast – $3.436, down 6.2 cents.
• West Coast less California – $3.252, down 5.3 cents.
• California – $3.719, down 7.4 cents.

Click here to view ProMiles fuel data averaged by state.

AAA reported the retail average U.S. diesel fuel price per gallon at $2.992 for Monday, Dec. 16.

A week previous the average retail U.S. diesel fuel price was $2.998 per gallon.

A month previous, AAA reported $3.012 per gallon of diesel, and a year ago $3.08 per gallon.

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

Check out last week’s diesel fuel report here.