DOE Diesel Off 18.3 Cents to $6.199, Second Straight Drop

The DOE number came in at $6.199/gal for the week of October 5, down 18.3 cents on the week, per EIA's weekly on-highway diesel price survey. That is the second consecutive weekly decline for the index most fuel surcharge schedules peg to. At the stated 6.5 mpg reference, the current price works out to 95.4 cents a mile, and the week's move trims about $14.08 from the fuel cost of a 500-mile haul at that reference.

• Gulf Coast (PADD 3): $5.819/gal, down 2% week over week on EIA's survey, the lowest pump price of any PADD and 73% above the five-year median.
• Midwest (PADD 2): $6.286/gal, down 4% on the week, the largest regional percentage decline in this release and 71% above the five-year median.
• Rocky Mountain (PADD 4): $6.267/gal, down 2% on the week and 71% above the five-year median.
• West Coast (PADD 5): $7.229/gal, down 2% on the week. The West-vs-Gulf spread stands at 141.0 cents/gal over the Gulf Coast (PADD 3).
• California: $8.082/gal, down 1% on the week and 63% above the five-year median.
• Crude (EIA daily spot, as of September 29): WTI (Cushing) $96.16/bbl, flat on the week. Brent (Europe) $113.96/bbl, down 1%. Neither is a diesel price. Crude reaches the pump with a lag of days to weeks.

The index remains 61% to 73% above respective five-year medians across all regions. The October 5 release falls in the fall harvest window, a period of elevated agricultural trucking demand.

Wholesale layer: EIA's daily ULSD spot series puts New York Harbor at $4.999/gal and the Gulf Coast hub at $4.866/gal, both as of September 29. Those are bulk, untaxed prices, not a pump price. Against the Monday retail reading of $6.199/gal, the gap between either hub and the pump carries federal and state fuel taxes plus the full retail layer.

Data note: ULSD spot and crude benchmark figures are as of September 29, six days before the October 5 retail survey week.