Diesel fuel prices have continued to fall since a mild spike at the beginning of July, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). In the six weeks since, diesel prices have gradually dropped, and this week is no exception as prices continue to dip ahead of fall. Currently, the national average for U.S. on-highway diesel fuel prices is $3.688 per gallon, down 1 cent from last week and 70 cents from this time last year. Similarly, the rest of the country saw their diesel prices drop across the country at a rate ranging from less than a cent to 4 cents overall.
The area that saw the least benefit from this week’s diesel prices was the Midwest, where costs fell less than a cent to $3.674 per gallon. The West Coast without California was in a similar boat where its costs dropped less than a cent to $3.905 per gallon. At a slightly better rate (but not by much), the West Coast and Gulf Coast both saw their diesel costs drop by 1 cent to $4.294 and $3.355, respectively.
On the upper end, California’s diesel prices dropped 2 cents to $4.739 per gallon, as did the East Coast’s down to $3.757. The Rocky Mountain region’s diesel costs fared best this week, dipping 5 cents to $3.650 per gallon. All the same, the Gulf Coast is still the cheapest place for diesel fuel at $3.355 while California is the most expensive at $4.739 per gallon.
But as a means of comparison, the AAA motor club ranked the average cost of diesel about 5 cents higher than the EIA at $3.733. This price is also 2 cents cheaper than last week’s diesel costs according to the AAA, and 61 cents cheaper than costs at this time last year.
Gas average reaches levels not seen since March 2024
As for gasoline, gas costs also continued to fall across the country save for the Rocky Mountain region. Nationwide, the average cost of gas is $3.382 per gallon, according to the EIA. This is 3 cents cheaper than last week and 48 cents cheaper than this time last year.
Read more: Gasoline, diesel costs drop, diesel at $3.76/gal
For the rest of the country, price changes vacillated from less than a cent to 7 cents altogether. The Rocky Mountain region’s gas costs jumped 5 cents to $3.471 per gallon this week, but it was the exception. In stark comparison, the Midwest’s gas costs dropped 7 cents to $3.322 while the East Coast’s gas prices fell 2 cents to $3.299 per gallon. On the smaller side, California, the West Coast without California, and along the West Coast overall, prices only fell 1 cent, leaving California with gas prices of $4.318, the West Coast without California at $3.774, and the West Coast overall with gas prices of $4.058 per gallon.
This leaves the Gulf Coast as the cheapest place for gas at $3.996 per gallon while California is the most expensive.
The AAA’s gas price reckoning is still higher than the EIA’s for this week at $3.411, but it still dropped 3 cents from this time last week and is a far cry from the national average gas price at this time last year ($3.869 per gallon).
So far, the motor club isn’t yet anticipating the upward price pressure that typically arrives with fall, although fuel prices may yet deviate from their crawl downward based on storm conditions.
“Summer is wrapping up soon, and so far, gas prices have barely wobbled,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. “But we still have a long way to go with hurricane season, so it’s too soon to declare that pump prices have started their usual Autumn swoon.”
This article was originally published on FleetOwner.com.
