Diesel prices continue to fall, posting a fifth consecutive weekly decline to reach the lowest levels since June 2009.
The average U.S. retail pump price for diesel was down 4.1 cents in the Dec. 14 report by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), to $2.338 per gallon. The price is about $1.08 per gallon cheaper than this time last year.
Prices were down in every region of the country, paced by New England which reported a 6.2 cent drop to $2.453. The Midwest ($2.294) and California ($2.65) both registered 5.4 cent declines, but California is still the highest price in the contiguous 48 states.
On the rest of the West Coast, a gallon of diesel dropped 4.6 cents to $2.431. The Rocky Mountain region saw a 3.5 cent decline$2.375.
The Central Atlantic reported a 4.1 cent decline to $2.2.501, while the Lower Atlantic region saw the price fall 3.7 cents to $2.258.
The Gulf Coast reported a 2 cent drop to $2.212, the lowest price for a gallon of diesel in the nation.
The average price for a gallon of gasoline was down 1.6 cents to $2.037. The price is nearly 52 cents per gallon cheaper than the same time last year, according to EIA.
Gasoline prices were down in every region except the Midwest, where prices increased 1.1 cents to $1.901 per gallon.
According to the EIA, weather forecasts for the current winter season are projected to be warmer in regions east of the Rocky Mountains compared with last year. The EIA’s State Heating Oil and Propane Program, which collects state-level residential heating oil and propane price data in 38 states during the winter season, says that propane and heating oil prices are lower than they were at this time last year. EIA said it expects prices will remain at lower levels throughout the winter.
