The average U.S. retail price of diesel fuel dipped to $1.617 from the previous average price of $1.628, the Department of Energy reported March 15.

The highest prices were in California, at $1.874; New England, at $1.756; the Central Atlantic region, at $1.731; and on the West Coast, where the average price is $1.801.

The dollar-fifty to dollar-sixty range greeted the Lower Atlantic region, where the average price is $1.566; the Midwest, at $1.582; the Gulf Coast, at $1.557; the East Coast, at $1.624; and the Rocky Mountain region, where the price is $1.636.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate voted March 12 to cancel the delivery of 53 million barrels of oil into the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve and to sell it to refineries to drive down prices. After the oil market closed, the Energy Department reiterated the administration’s policy of filling the reserve and not using the oil to manipulate the prices.

The Senate action challenged President Bush's plan to fill the reserve to its capacity of 700 million barrels by next year. The reserve now holds a record 648.2 million barrels, according to the Energy Department.