WASHINGTON, D.C. --- The average U.S. retail diesel price continued its downward slide, dropping another 3.6 cents to $4.023 per gallon, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported last week. That's the lowest point since April 7.

During the past nine weeks, diesel prices have fallen 74.1 cents from the all-time high set on July 14. Prices fell throughout the nation with the exception of the Lower Atlantic section of the East Coast, where the price inched up 1.3 cents. The average diesel price on the East Coast, however, dipped 1.8 cents to $4.082 per gallon, the EIA reported.

The Midwest continued to have the lowest diesel price in the nation, dropping another 4.2 cents to reach $3.973 per gallon. This was the first time the diesel price for any region slipped below $4 a gallon since April 7. The average diesel price in the Gulf Coast slipped just four-tenths of a cent to $4.011  per gallon. The price in the Rocky Mountains dropped 6.4 cents to $4.041 per gallon.

The West Coast diesel price went down more than any other region, slumping 10 cents to $4.056 per gallon. In California, the average price plunged 13.2 cents to hit $4.053 per gallon.