The price of diesel fuel continued to slide last week, as the latest numbers from the Energy Department show a two-week trend of falling fuel prices.
The average price of on-highway diesel fuel fell by 2.5 cents last week, falling to $2.539 per gallon at the pump. The price is now 42 cents more expensive on average than it was in same week of 2016.
Prices were down in all regions of the country with the largest decrease coming to the Gulf Coast, dropping 3.9 cents. The smallest decline was found in New England where prices were down only 0.6 cents for the week.
The average price of regular gasoline was also down last week, though only by 0.2 cents per gallon with the price hovering around $2.32. The price is now 31.4 cents higher than it was in the same week a year ago.
Prices varied up and down by region, with the largest drop occurring in the Lower Atlantic at 0.8 cents per gallon. The largest increase in prices was a similarly small 0.4 cents per gallon in the Midwest.
Meanwhile, the Energy Department released its analysis of U.S. crude oil production in 2016, which showed that it decreased for the year overall. Despite the decline, U.S. crude production began to rise in the last few months of 2016 and total production for the year was still above the five-year average.
Crude prices increased from a low of around $31 per barrel to $52 per barrel, which was the largest annual increase in prices since 2009. An agreement by OPEC countries to cut production and increase prices had the intended effect on the crude oil market at the end of the year, but it has since remained flat in 2017, largely thansk to increased U.S. oil production.
Originally posted on Trucking Info
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