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Economy in Brief
Import Prices Continue Their Decline; Both Oil and Nonoil Prices Move Lower
Import prices fell a greater-than-expected 0.5% during January (-1.7% year-on-year)...
Empire State Manufacturing Activity Improves Modestly
The Empire State Manufacturing Index of General Business Conditions rose to 8.8 during February...
U.S. Retail Sales Exhibit Extensive Weakness
Total retail sales declined 1.2% (+2.3% y/y) during December...
U.S. Producer Prices Decline; Core PPI Rises
The headline Final Demand Producer Price Index edged down 0.1% for the second consecutive month in January (+2.0% y/y)...
U.S. Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance Edge Back Higher
Initial claims for unemployment insurance were 239,000 in the week ended February 9...
by Gerald D. Cohen February 12, 2019
Retail gasoline prices edged up to $2.28 per gallon last week (-12.7% year-on-year). Haver Analytics constructs factors adjusting for the seasonal variation in gasoline pump prices. The seasonally-adjusted price rose to $2.47 per gallon, up slightly from the 14-month low of $2.39 in early January.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices decreased to an average of $53.53 (-13.7% y/y) per barrel last week. Oil prices hit an 18-month low of $44.55 at the end of last year. Yesterday, prices ticked down to $52.41 per barrel. Brent crude oil prices rose to an average of $62.20 per barrel last week and were $61.51 yesterday.
Natural gas prices fell to an average of $2.59/mmbtu last week (-5.8% y/y) from $2.90/mmbtu, as the cold snap in the Midwest and East abated. Prices rose to $2.76 yesterday.
In the four-weeks ending February 1st, gasoline demand increased 1.6% y/y, while total petroleum product demand rose 2.0% y/y. Gasoline inventories were up 5.1% y/y in the week ending February 1st, while inventories of all petroleum products grew 1.8% y/y. Crude oil input to refineries also gained 1.8% y/y in the last four weeks.
These data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The price data can be found in Haver's WEEKLY and DAILY databases. Greater detail on prices, as well as the demand, production and inventory data, along with regional breakdowns, are in OILWKLY.
Weekly Energy Prices | 02/11/19 | 02/04/19 | 01/28/19 | Y/Y % | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Retail Gasoline ($ per Gallon Regular, Monday Price, End of Period) | 2.28 | 2.25 | 2.26 | -12.7 | 2.27 | 2.47 | 2.31 |
Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl, Previous Week's Average) | 53.53 | 53.63 | 52.74 | -13.7 | 64.95 | 50.87 | 43.22 |
Natural Gas ($/mmbtu, LA, Previous Week's Average) | 2.59 | 2.90 | 3.19 | -5.8 | 3.18 | 2.99 | 2.51 |