Average diesel price down another fraction of a penny

imagechartThe national average price for a gallon of on-highway diesel fell again in the week ended Dec. 16, down eight-tenths of a penny (0.8 cents) to $3.871, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration.

Last week’s even smaller drop — a three-tenths of a cent decline — ended a two-week string of price increases. The two consecutive price increases were the first since the last week in August and followed 11 straight weeks without a price increase. The price is down 11 cents in that time period.

The price of diesel has only risen two weeks out of the last 15, but is only down 7.4 cents from the same week last year.

The California region still has the country’s highest diesel ($4.066), and its price was unchanged from week to week. The Central Atlantic region led all price increases with a five-tenths of a cent rise, while the West Coast less California region led all decreases with a 2.2-cent decline.

The Gulf Coast region still has the country’s cheapest diesel, $3.766 a gallon.