In The News

EIA reports first major diesel price drop since July

WASHINGTON -- After months of weekly declines, the average price of a gallon of diesel in the U.S. fuel rose 2.3 cents this past week.

According to weekly figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the national average price was $2.327 nationwide, with the highest prices still in the New England region and the lowest in the Rocky Mountains.

With the exception of a hundredth-cent increase in late September, the price of retail diesel has fallen every week since in hit a record high of $4.764 in mid-July of last year.

Oil prices, however, continued to fall despite OPEC production cuts.

According to Bloomberg, crude oil for February delivery closed at $37.59 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Monday, down 59 percent from a year ago.

In Canada, the national average for diesel is just over 90 cent a liter. It hasn't fluctuated much from that rate for several weeks. Average prices in Alberta have been in the mid-80-cent range for most of the week, while in Newfoundland and Northern Quebec, prices can get as high as $1.00 a liter and above.