Recent Updates
- Japan: First 20 Days Trade, Bank of Japan's Transactions (Feb)
- India: Mutual Funds (Feb)
- New Zealand: Value of Building Work Put in Place by Region (Q4)
- New Zealand: Value of Building Work Put in Place (Q4)
- 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 December 4, 2018
Gasoline prices fell to an average $2.45 per gallon (-2.0% y/y) from $2.54 during last week. Prices have fallen from an average high of $2.90 early last month, to the lowest level since December 2017. Haver Analytics constructs factors to adjust for the marked seasonal variation in prices. The seasonally-adjusted gasoline price fell eight cents last week to $2.55 per gallon.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices fell to an average of $51.09 per barrel last week (-11.6% y/y) from $55.06 in the prior week. Prices have fallen steadily since the peak of $75.11 in early-October to the lowest price since October 2017. Yesterday, prices were $52.95 per barrel. Brent crude oil prices declined to $59.77 per barrel (-5.5% y/y) last week from $62.85 during the prior week. Yesterday, prices were $61.92 per barrel.
Natural gas prices eased last week to $4.47/mmbtu (+53.5% y/y) from $4.67 in the prior week. Prices were up from the low of $2.52 last February.
During the latest four weeks, gasoline demand fell 0.9% y/y; total petroleum product demand rose 5.6% y/y. Gasoline inventories strengthened 4.9% y/y, but inventories of all petroleum products eased 0.6% y/y. Crude oil input to refineries has risen 0.5% y/y in the last four weeks.
These data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The price data can be found in Haver's WEEKLY and DAILY databases. Greater detail on prices, as well as the demand, production and inventory data, along with regional breakdowns, are in OILWKLY.
Weekly Energy Prices | 12/03/18 | 11/26/18 | 11/19/18 | Y/Y % | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Retail Gasoline ($ per Gallon Regular, Monday Price) | 2.45 | 2.54 | 2.61 | -2.0 | 2.47 | 2.31 | 2.03 |
Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl, Previous Week's Average) | 51.09 | 55.06 | 56.94 | -11.6 | 50.87 | 43.22 | 48.90 |
Natural Gas ($/mmbtu, LA, Previous Week's Average) | 4.47 | 4.67 | 4.23 | 53.5 | 2.96 | 2.49 | 2.62 |