Diesel prices eased off on Tuesday, Oct. 25, from a record high the previous day, according to AAA.

The association, which surveys 85,000 self-serve stations across the country, reported a national average of $3.218 per gallon Oct. 25, down from the record high of $3.239 per gallon the day before.

The highest average was found in Illinois, at $3.496 per gallon.

Meanwhile, diesel remains significantly higher than gasoline – by more than $1 in some areas.

Jake Bournazian, an economist with the Energy Information Administration, told Land Line that part of the reason for this is simple supply and demand.

“Supply conditions for diesel fuel are a lot tighter than gasoline,” he said. “Also we are in the high demand period for diesel. Once you cross over into the heating season after Oct. 1, demand for diesel fuel increases and pretty much stays at a higher level through March.”

Bournazian said refineries that were shut down in the Gulf Coast region following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita are also a contributing factor.

“Refineries that were shut down along the gulf coast are mainly diesel producing refineries,” he said. “The market lost about 600,000-700,000 barrels of diesel production per day when those were shut down.”

– By Terry Scruton, senior writer
terry_scruton@landlinemag.com