Diesel Prices Down Around the Country As Holiday Weekend Approaches
Fuel prices in the United States continue to fall and the end is not in sight after the price of a barrel of oil briefly dipped below $40 last Friday, a six-year low. On average, drivers are spending 25% less at the pump this year versus last.
The lower prices have spurred U.S. drivers to take to the road and oil refineries are struggling to keep up with the demand.
The average price for a gallon of diesel fell $1.260 from a year ago to $2.561, a price that was $1.135 less than a year ago, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Meanwhile, the average price for a gallon of gasoline this week was $2.637, $0.817 less than it was a year ago.
The Gulf Coast saw the steepest decrease in diesel fuel prices, with a $1.318 decline for a price of $2.414. The Rocky Mountain region dropped $1.283, for a price of $2.592, while the Midwest saw a decline of $1.276, resulting in a price of $2.487.
New England saw the greatest drop in gasoline prices, with a $1.055 decline from last year, with a gallon of gas selling $2.491. The Lower Atlantic saw a drop of $0.964, bringing the price down to $2.356, and the Gulf Coast region saw the price fall $0.951, resulting in a price of $2.287.
The price for gasoline in the state of Oklahoma has already dropped and was the lowest it has been since 2004, the AAA Oklahoma said on Tuesday. The average price of a gallon of gasoline was $2.45, approximately 12 cents lower than last week’s average.
Gas prices in the Midwest will likely continue to drop now that the problems at a BP refinery in Indiana that caused prices to rise earlier in the summer have been fixed. Motorists can expect to see a drop of between 20 to 50 cents per gallon in the region over the next two weeks.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)