Diesel price slips, falls 1.8 cents to $4 even

The national average price for a gallon of on-highway diesel fell in the week ended March 17 to $4.003 a gallon, according to the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration. That’s a 1.8-cent drop and the largest week-to-week decline since the week ended Jan. 13, when the price fell 2.4 cents.

The drop follows two weeks of hardly any price movement, as the national average price rose a combined four-tenths in that time period.

However, prior to that, diesel prices surged 14.4 cents in a five-week span from the end of January to the end of February, pushing the nation’s average price above $4 for the first time in a year. The national average price is now 4.4 cents lower than the same week in 2013, according to the EIA.

ProMiles’ Fuel Surcharge Index reported this week a 1.5-cent drop, bringing its reported national average to $3.949 a gallon, down 4.7 cents from the same week in 2013.

Per the EIA, the average price dropped in all regions in the U.S., too, led by a 4.9-cent drop in the New England region, followed by a 3.9-cent drop in the Central Atlantic region and a 2.5-cent drop in California.

The Central Atlantic and the New England regions, however, still have the country’s most expensive diesel, $4.314 and $4.313 a gallon, respectively.

The Gulf Coast region still has the U.S.’ cheapest diesel, $3.803 a gallon, followed by the West Coast less California region’s $3.942.