Fuel prices: diesel dips while gasoline gains

Average retail pump prices declined for diesel this week in the U.S., according to information tracked by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), while gasoline inched up nationwide after big prices spikes in the Midwest and Gulf Coast regions.

For the U.S. overall, the average retail pump price for diesel dropped 2.3 cents this week to $3.756 per gallon, which is 16.4 cents per gallon cheaper compared to the same week in 2013, the agency reported.

Diesel prices declined in all regions of the country this week, according to EIA’s figures, with diesel only exceeding the $4 per gallon mark now in California, where prices fell 3.4 cents to $4.007 per gallon.

The largest price decreases for diesel occurred on the West Coast, which registered a 5.3 cent drop to $3.876 per gallon without California included – morphing into a 4.2 cent dip to $3.948 per gallon with the Golden State included in the West Coast’s pricing mix, the agency said.

The Rocky Mountain region witnessed the third highest drop in U.S. diesel prices this week, registering a 3.5 cent decline to $3.806 per gallon, EIA noted.

By contrast, average retail pump prices for gasoline increased 1/10^th of a penny to $3.354 per gallon this week, the agency reported, though that is 7.1 cents per gallon cheaper compared to the same week in 2013.

Gasoline price spikes in three regions of the country drove up the national average: a 2.4 cent jump in the Midwest to $3.299 per gallon followed by a 2.9 cent increase along the Gulf Coast to $3.156 per gallon, though that’s the cheapest per gallon price mark for gasoline in the U.S. The Lower Atlantic region witnessed the last spike in gasoline prices this week, though it was very mild, jumping only 1/10^th of a penny to $3.267 per gallon.

EIA said the biggest gasoline price decreases for the week occurred in: the Rocky Mountain region, where prices fell 5 cents to $3.494 per gallon; the West Coast, including California, with a 4.4 cent drop to $3.562; and the West Coast again, this time without the Golden State’s prices included in the mix, with a 3.8 cent dip to $3.645.