On-highway diesel prices fall, remain above $4

Updated Dec 6, 2012

Screen Shot 2012 12 05 At 10 02 23 AmFor the week that ended Dec. 3, the national average retail price of on-highway diesel fell 0.7 cents to $4.027 per gallon, according to data from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration.

The Energy Department does not track the price of off-highway diesel used in equipment, but by subtracting the monthly national average of taxes applied to on-highway diesel, a rough estimate of off-highway can be made. The monthly national average of taxes per gallon is 12 percent, for an estimate of $3.544 per gallon of off-highway diesel.

In mid-November, on-highway diesel fell below $4 a gallon, before an increase late in the month placed it back over the threshold. This past week’s price of $4.027 per gallon is 9.6 cents higher than it was at the same time last year.

In the last week, prices fell in all regions of the U.S. save for three — New England, the Lower Atlantic and the East Coast, which contains the previous two. At 1.8 cents, New England saw the largest increase and at $4.221 per gallon, is the region with the most expensive diesel in the country.