Diesel Drops Back to $2.608

The average price of diesel fuel dropped back eight-tenths of a cent to $2.608 per gallon last week, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

It was the first retreat in pricing in eight weeks, even as crude oil futures edged above $70 on the New York Mercantile Exchange to close Monday afternoon at $71.49 per barrel.

The highest prices were on the West Coast. The average in California was down four-tenths of a cent to $2.785 per gallon. In the whole region, the average price was down eight-tenths of a cent to $2.712 per gallon.

The lowest prices in the country were in the Gulf Coast, where diesel sold for $2.569 per gallon, down 1.4 cents from a week ago and down $2.035 from last year at this time.

A slightly bigger drop came in the Rocky Mountain region, where diesel fell 1.7 cents to $2.631 per gallon. The smallest drop was on the East Coast. The average price there slipped back five-tenths of a cent to $2.629 per gallon.

Contact Thomas L. Gallagher at tgallagher@joc.com.