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Economy in Brief
FIBER: Industrial Commodity Prices Improve Modestly
The FIBER Industrial Materials Price Index increased 0.9% during the four weeks ended April 9...
EMU Retail Sales Jump, Regaining Some of the January Drop
February finds EU retail sales and motor vehicle registration rebounding...
U.S. PPI Posts Broad-Based Strength in March
The Producer Price Index for final demand jumped 1.0% (4.2% y/y) during March...
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...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
Monetary Policy Blunder: Not Managing Economic & Financial Outcomes Equally
Monetary Policy at a Crossroad: Policymakers Need to Break Promise of Easy Money to Avoid Boom-Bust
State Coincident Indexes in January
Data Surprises, Markets and COVID
by Tom Moeller November 20, 2018
Gasoline prices fell last week to an average $2.61 per gallon (+1.7% y/y) from $2.69 during the prior week. Prices have fallen from an average high of $2.90 in the last six weeks to the lowest level since mid-March. Haver Analytics constructs factors to adjust for the marked seasonal variation in prices. The seasonally-adjusted gasoline price fell three cents last week to $2.67 per gallon.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices fell to an average of $56.93 per barrel (+1.8% y/y) from $61.56 in the prior week. It was the sixth consecutive weekly decline from the peak of $75.11 in early-October and the lowest price since November of last year. Yesterday, prices were $56.76 per barrel. Brent crude oil prices declined to $66.89 per barrel (+7.5% y/y) last week from $71.56 during the prior week. Yesterday, prices were $66.98 per barrel.
Natural gas prices surged last week to $4.32/mmbtu (40.3% y/y) from $3.58 in the prior week. Prices were up from the low of $2.52 last February and were $4.65 yesterday.
During the latest four weeks, gasoline demand fell 1.5% y/y; total petroleum product demand rose 6.2% y/y. Gasoline inventories strengthened 7.7% y/y, but inventories of all petroleum products declined 1.2% y/y. Crude oil input to refineries has risen 2.4% y/y in the last four weeks.
These data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The price data can be found in Haver's WEEKLY and DAILY databases. Greater detail on prices, as well as the demand, production and inventory data, along with regional breakdowns, are in OILWKLY.
Weekly Energy Prices | 11/19/18 | 11/13/18 | 11/05/18 | Y/Y % | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Retail Gasoline ($ per Gallon Regular, Monday Price) | 2.61 | 2.69 | 2.75 | 1.7 | 2.47 | 2.31 | 2.03 |
Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl, Previous Week's Average) | 56.93 | 61.56 | 65.06 | 1.8 | 50.87 | 43.22 | 48.90 |
Natural Gas ($/mmbtu, LA, Previous Week's Average) | 4.32 | 3.58 | 3.28 | 40.3 | 2.96 | 2.49 | 2.62 |