Diesel and gasoline prices diverge

The national average retail pump price for diesel and gasoline followed different paths this week, according to data tracked by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), with diesel increasing by 5.2 cents per gallon even as gasoline fell by 5.3 cents per gallon.

The agency noted that the average U.S. retail pump price for diesel is now $3.677 per gallon, up 5.3 cents versus last week, though that is 15.5 cents cheaper compared to the same week in 2013.

A whopping 16.4 cent increase in Midwest diesel fuel prices to $3.788 per gallon drove this week’s spike in the national average, EIA reported, followed by an 8.3 cent hike in the Rocky Mountain region to $3.796 per gallon and a 3 cent increase in the Gulf Coast to $3.562 per gallon.

The national average retail pump price for gasoline, by contrast, dropped 5.3 cents this week to $2.941 per gallon, the agency noted – which is 25.3 cents per gallon cheaper compared to the same week in 2013.

Gasoline dropped the most on the West Coast, declining 6.9 cents to $3.168, which changes to a 4.4 cent drop to $3.084 with California’s prices removed, followed by a 6.4 cent decline to $3.076 in the Rocky Mountain region.

New England and the Central Atlantic both recorded a 5.4 cent dip in gasoline prices this week to $3.061 and $3.023 per gallon, respectively.