Recent Updates
- US: Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations (Apr)
- US: Import/Export Prices (Mar)
- Mauritius: Central Bank Survey, Core CPI (Mar)
- Germany: Germany: International Reserves (Mar)
- Israel: CPI (Mar)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. Mortgage Applications Decline Further
The MBA Mortgage Loan Applications Index fell 3.7% (-13.4% y/y) in the week ended April 9...
U.S. Consumer Price Inflation Picks Up as Both Energy & Core Prices Strengthen in March
The Consumer Price Index rose 0.6% (2.6% y/y) during March...
U.S. NFIB Small Business Optimism Index Rises in March
The NFIB U.S. Small Business Optimism Index improved to 98.2 in March...
U.S. Energy Prices Ease Broadly
The price of regular gasoline eased to $2.85 per gallon (+53.8% y/y) in the week ended April 12...
Industrial Output in Italy and France and a Cursory ZEW Outlook
Italian industrial output in manufacturing rose for the third month in a row...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller January 9, 2018
Retail gasoline prices were unchanged at $2.52 per gallon (5.6% y/y) last week at the highest level since late November. Haver Analytics constructs factors adjusting for the seasonal variation in gasoline pump prices. The price edged up to $2.65 per gallon from $2.64.
WTI crude oil prices rose to $61.36 (15.0% y/y) per barrel last week, the highest level since December 2014. Prices held steady yesterday. Brent crude oil prices increased to $67.81 per barrel last week and rose further to $68.48 per barrel yesterday.
Natural gas prices surged last week to $5.21/mmbtu (55.6% y/y) but declined to $2.87/mmbtu yesterday.
In the week ended December 29, gasoline demand rose 2.1% y/y, while total petroleum product demand strengthened 5.0% y/y. Gasoline inventories declined 1.0% y/y, while inventories of all petroleum products declined 6.3% y/y. Crude oil input to refineries improved 4.0% y/y in the last four weeks.
The energy price data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The petroleum demand and inventory figures are from the Oil & Gas Journal Weekly. These data can be found in Haver's WEEKLY database. The daily figures are in DAILY and greater detail on prices, demand and production, along with regional breakdowns, are in OILWKLY.
Weekly Energy Prices | 1/8/18 | 1/1/18 | 12/25/17 | Y/Y % | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Retail Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular) | 2.52 | 2.52 | 2.47 | 5.6 | 2.47 | 2.31 | 2.03 |
Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl.) | 61.36 | 59.87 | 57.87 | 15.0 | 50.87 | 43.22 | 48.90 |
Natural Gas ($/mmbtu, LA, WSJ) | 5.21 | 3.00 | 2.67 | 55.61 | 2.96 | 2.49 | 2.62 |