According to the USDA Grain Transportation Report, for the week ending August 15—the eighth consecutive week of decline—the U.S average price of diesel fell 8.2 cents to $4.991 per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) data.
This was the first time in the last 6 weeks that prices dropped less than 10 cents a gallon. On average, diesel is still $1.555 more per gallon than it was the same time last year. Also, on August 16, the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil, the U.S. benchmark, dipped below $87 per barrel—the lowest level since February 1, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
From 2000 to 2021, crude oil prices accounted for about 50 percent of monthly average U.S. retail on-highway diesel fuel prices. The drop in oil prices resulted from an economic slowdown in China, the world’s largest oil importer. Oil prices also responded to the world market’s uncertainty about a possible trade deal to allow more Iranian oil exports.