Diesel prices rose slightly Friday, Oct. 14, after having dropped during the previous two days.

ProMiles reported a national average of $3.114, up slightly from the previous day. Though some states had slipped below the $3 mark, many were still reporting prices well above that range.

Meanwhile, prices for light, sweet crude fell below the $62 per barrel mark in early trading Oct. 14 on the New York Mercantile Exchange before bouncing up again above $63 later in the day.

Reuters reported that analysts blamed the drop on lower than average demand from the United States.

The Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. demand was down for the month of October; about 2.4 percent lower than it was in 2004.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that 47 percent of market analysts said in a recent survey that oil prices should rise again during the week of Oct. 16. The analysts said that tight supplies as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita are still a major factor.

The U.S. Minerals Management Service said that oil production in the Gulf of Mexico was still 69 percent below normal capacity.