On-highway diesel prices inched down by one cent for the week ending August 20, finishing at a national average $3.207 per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The small drop continued a pattern of quivering diesel prices that has gone on since spring. Although prices have fluctuated by only small amounts during that time, the pattern in recent weeks is adding up to a slow decline. The national average has now fallen for the third consecutive week and the sixth in the last seven weeks.
It has fallen 8.1 cents since May 28, after six months of trending upward.
Every region in the country experienced a small price decrease in the past week, with the Lower Atlantic section of the East Coast region experiencing the largest drop, $0.015, to finish at $3.076, the second-lowest price in the nation.
At $2.981, The Gulf Coast remains the only region where the price of diesel is below $3.
California, where diesel prices are by far the highest, at $3.929, saw a drop of $0.013. The West Coast overall, including California, fell by $0.008 to $3.706, with the area in the region outside California experiencing only a $0.002 decline.
California also continues to show the largest year-to-year price increase, $0.968. New England has the next nearest year-to-year increase for an individual region, $0.645.
Oil futures rose August 20, as investors worried more about an expected fall in supply from Iran due to U.S. sanctions and worried less that a trade war between the United States and China would hurt economic growth.
Brent crude futures rose 38 cents to settle at $72.21 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 52 cents to end at $66.43 a barrel.
Click here for a complete list of average prices by region for the past three weeks.
The Trucker News Staff produces engaging content for not only TheTrucker.com, but also The Trucker Newspaper, which has been serving the trucking industry for more than 30 years. With a focus on drivers, the Trucker News Staff aims to provide relevant, objective content pertaining to the trucking segment of the transportation industry. The Trucker News Staff is based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
