Recent Updates
- Bangladesh: BOP (Nov), Stock Exchange Indicators (Jan), Reserve Money (Dec)
- Philippines: CPI (Feb)
- Thailand: International Trade by Region (Jan)
- Japan: First 20 Days Trade, Bank of Japan's Transactions (Feb)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Rise Just 9,000
Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose modestly by 9,000 to 745,000 in the week ended February 27...
U.S. Productivity's Decline Lessened in Q4'20; Reverses Q3 Increase
Revisions to nonfarm business sector productivity indicated a 4.2% decline during Q4'20...
EMU Unemployment Rate Steadies in January
The overall EMU unemployment rate was steady in January, off peak, but still elevated...
U.S. ADP Nonfarm Private Payroll Increase Disappoints in February
Job market strength moderated last month....
U.S. ISM Services Index Weakens in February
The ISM Composite Index of Services Activity declined to 55.3 during February...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller November 14, 2018
Gasoline prices declined last week to an average $2.69 per gallon (+3.6% y/y) from $2.75 during the prior week. Prices have fallen from an average high of $2.90 in the last five weeks. Haver Analytics constructs factors to adjust for the marked seasonal variation in prices. The seasonally-adjusted gasoline price fell six cents last week to $2.70 per gallon.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices fell to an average of $61.56 per barrel (+7.9% y/y) from $65.06 in the prior week. It was the fifth consecutive weekly decline from the peak of $75.11 in early October and the lowest price since March. Yesterday, the price weakened to $55.69 per barrel. Brent crude oil prices declined to $71.56 per barrel (+12.3% y/y) last week from $74.54. Yesterday, prices softened to $67.49.
Natural gas prices strengthened last week to $3.54/mmbtu (13.4% y/y) from $3.28 in the prior week. Prices have improved to $3.96 this week, up from the low of $2.52 in February.
During the latest four weeks, gasoline demand fell 1.4% y/y; total petroleum product demand rose 4.0% y/y. Gasoline inventories surged 8.8% y/y, but inventories of all petroleum products declined 1.0% y/y. Crude oil input to refineries has risen 2.4% y/y in the last four weeks.
These data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The price data can be found in Haver's WEEKLY and DAILY databases. Greater detail on prices, as well as the demand, production and inventory data, along with regional breakdowns, are in OILWKLY.
Weekly Energy Prices | 11/13/18 | 11/05/18 | 10/29/18 | Y/Y % | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Retail Gasoline ($ per Gallon Regular, Monday Price) | 2.69 | 2.75 | 2.81 | 3.6 | 2.47 | 2.31 | 2.03 |
Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl, Previous Week's Average) | 61.56 | 65.06 | 67.49 | 7.9 | 50.87 | 43.22 | 48.90 |
Natural Gas ($/mmbtu, LA, Previous Week's Average) | 3.54 | 3.28 | 3.32 | 13.4 | 2.96 | 2.49 | 2.62 |