U.S. retail gasoline prices fell below $2 for the first time in five weeks and the cost of diesel fuel dropped for a third week, the Energy Department said Monday.
The national pump price for regular unleaded gasoline declined 3.2 cents over the last week to $1.969 a gallon, up 47 cents from a year ago, according to a survey of service stations by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The EIA, the Energy Department’s analytical arm, also said the average price truckers pay for diesel fuel fell 3.1 cents to $2.132 a gallon, up 65 cents from a year ago.
Pump prices are expected to continue falling due to declining crude oil prices, which account for about half the cost of making gasoline and diesel fuel. The price for crude has dropped from its record high of almost $56 a barrel three weeks ago to $45 in New York futures trading Monday.
The EIA’s weekly survey showed the retail price for cleaner-burning reformulated gasoline, sold in polluted metropolitan areas, fell 3 cents to $2.077 a gallon.
The West Coast had the most expensive regular unleaded gasoline, with the price down 2.7 cents to $2.222 a gallon. San Francisco topped the agency’s city survey of gasoline costs, with the price falling 2.4 cents to $2.361 a gallon.
The U.S. Gulf Coast had the cheapest fuel, with the price down 2.9 cents to $1.87 per gallon. Houston had the best deal at the pump at $1.842 a gallon, down 3.4 cents.
The weekly report also showed gasoline prices were down 1.1 cents to $2.072 in Miami, down 1.7 cents to $2.039 in Seattle, down 2.2 cents to $2.019 in New York City, down 5.7 cents to $1.983 in Chicago, and down 6.3 cents to $1.819 in Cleveland.
Separately, truckers on the West Coast paid the most for diesel fuel at $2.274 a gallon, down a nickel from the prior week. The Gulf Coast states had the cheapest diesel at $2.056 a gallon, down 4 cents.