Fort Lauderdale, FL – With the price of crude oil falling dramatically, even as people hit the road for spring break, the price of gas finally fell in nearly all regions this week, helping pull the nation’s average gas price down for the first time this month, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. It now costs about $2.32 for a gallon of regular unleaded gas, nationwide, although regional averages vary widely.
Gas prices did jump upward across the West Coast and Rocky Mountains, by about two cents per gallon; prices across the Gulf Coast and Lower Atlantic fell by about the same amount.
Meanwhile, the cost of diesel fell across all regions, with the E.I.A. weekly survey showing a 1.5-cent decline in the average price of diesel. That shift helped push the national average down to about $2.56 per gallon.
Regional cost averages for both gasoline and diesel are listed below, ranked from highest to lowest price.
Regional Gasoline Averages:
$2.851: PADD 5 WEST COAST (INCL. CA)
$2.584: PADD 5 WEST COAST (W/O CA)
$2.386: PADD 1b CENTRAL ATLANTIC
$2.305: PADD 4 ROCKY MOUNTAIN
$2.273: PADD 1 EAST COAST
$2.259: PADD 1a NEW ENGLAND
$2.217: PADD 2 MIDWEST
$2.191: PADD 1c LOWER ATLANTIC
$2.075: PADD 3 GULF COAST
Regional Diesel Averages:
$2.846: PADD 5 WEST COAST
$2.761: PADD 1b CENTRAL ATLANTIC
$2.628: PADD 1a NEW ENGLAND
$2.617: PADD 1 EAST COAST
$2.617: PADD 4 ROCKY MOUNTAIN
$2.512: PADD 1c LOWER ATLANTIC
$2.491: PADD 2 MIDWEST
$2.419: PADD 3 GULF COAST
Note: PADD is an acronym for Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts.