WASHINGTON, D.C. --- The U.S. average price for diesel fuel fell below $3 a gallon for the first time since Sept. 17 of last year, decreasing 14.4 cents to $2.944 per gallon, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Nov. 13.

Diesel prices continued to fall across the nation and dropped below the $3 mark in all regions except the East Coast. Although the price in the Lower Atlantic portion of the East Coast dropped to $2.98 per gallon, the price in the Central Atlantic and New England portions of the region remained above $3.20 per gallon. Consequently, the average for the region as a whole, after falling 15.9 cents, still remained at $3.06 per gallon.

Slipping 13 cents to $2.888 per gallon, the diesel price in the Midwest remained the lowest of any region. The average price in the Gulf Coast dropped 13.8 cents to $2.895 per gallon. The price in the Rocky Mountains plunged the most of any region, tumbling 19.3 cents to $2.964 per gallon.

On the West Coast, the diesel price fell 14.2 cents to $2.91 per gallon. In California, the average price shrank by 14.4 cents to $2.913 per gallon.