The national average price for a gallon of on-highway diesel dropped 7 cents in the week ended Dec. 8 to $3.535, according to the Department of Energy’s weekly report.
That’s the largest week-to-week price drop since Oct. 2012 and the second-largest in the last five years. The price is also the lowest U.S. average since early February 2011 and the first time it has dropped under the $3.60 mark in the same time frame.
All regions in the U.S. also experienced price drops, led by a whopping 13.2-cent increase in the West Coast less California region. The California region (7.1 cents), the Rocky Mountain region (7.2 cents) and the Midwest (7.9 cents) each all had price drops greater than the 7-cent average.
The Rocky Mountain and California regions tied for the country’s most expensive diesel, $3.655, followed by the Midwest’s $3.623 and the West Coast’s $3.593.
The Lower Atlantic had the country’s cheapest diesel, $3.386, followed by the Gulf Coast’s $3.434 and the East Coast’s $3.460.