Recent Updates
- US: Wholesale Trade (Feb), Producer Prices (Mar)
- US: Producer Price Indexes by Commodity Detail (Mar)
- US: Producer Price Indexes by Industry Detail (Mar)
- Canada: Investment in Building Construction (Feb), Labor Force Survey (Mar)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. Wholesale Inventories Post Strong February Gain; Sales Fall
Wholesale inventories increased 0.6% (2.0% y/y) during February...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Unexpectedly Increase
Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 744,000 during the week ended April 3...
Total PMIs Gain Traction in March
The PMI readings for March show improvement again...
U.S. Consumer Credit Outstanding Bounces Back in February
Consumer credit outstanding surged $27.6 billion during February...
U.S. Trade Deficit Widens to Record during February
The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services widened to $71.1 during February...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller April 3, 2018
Retail gasoline prices increased to $2.70 per gallon last week (14.4% y/y) and landed at the highest level since August 2015. Haver Analytics constructs factors adjusting for the seasonal variation in gasoline pump prices. The seasonally-adjusted price rose to $2.70 per gallon, the highest level in five weeks.
WTI crude oil prices rose to $65.03 per barrel last week, up 32.3% y/y. Prices were just below the early-February high of $65.22 per barrel. Prices eased to $63.01 per barrel yesterday. Brent crude oil prices increased to $69.48 per barrel last week and were $67.70 yesterday.
Natural gas prices nudged higher to $2.64/mmbtu (-12.4% y/y) last week compared to $2.63/mmbtu during the prior week and were $2.72/mmbtu yesterday.
In the week ended March 23, gasoline demand increased 0.6% y/y, while total petroleum product demand improved 5.7% y/y. Gasoline inventories eased 0.1% y/y, while inventories of all petroleum products fell 8.6% y/y. Crude oil input to refineries improved 4.6% y/y in the last four weeks.
The energy price data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The petroleum demand and inventory figures are from the Oil & Gas Journal Weekly. These data can be found in Haver's WEEKLY database. The daily figures are in DAILY and greater detail on prices, demand and production, along with regional breakdowns, are in OILWKLY.
Weekly Energy Prices | 04/02/18 | 03/26/18 | 03/19/18 | Y/Y % | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Retail Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular) | 2.70 | 2.65 | 2.60 | 14.4 | 2.47 | 2.31 | 2.03 |
Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl.) | 65.03 | 64.14 | 61.30 | 32.3 | 50.87 | 43.22 | 48.90 |
Natural Gas ($/mmbtu, LA, WSJ) | 2.64 | 2.63 | 2.69 | -12.4 | 2.96 | 2.49 | 2.62 |