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Economy in Brief
U.S. Productivity Weakness Revised Little; Unit Labor Costs Still Firm
Productivity growth in the nonfarm business sector last quarter was revised to -0.2% at an annual rate (+1.5%) y/y...
U.S. Gasoline and Nat Gas Prices Fall While Crude Oil Prices Were Mixed
In the week ended December 9, retail gasoline prices edged down to $2.56 per gallon (+5.8% y/y)...
ZEW Assessments and Expectations Improve But Gain Less Markedly
The ZEW global macroeconomic assessments have improved along a broad front in December following a surge of improvement in November...
NABE Projections for Moderate Growth and Inflation Are Little Revised
The National Association for Business Economics expectations of 1.8% growth in real GDP during 2020...
German Trade Data Tell a Tale of Two Germanys
Germany's October trade report is better than expected...
by Tom Moeller May 7, 2019
Retail gasoline prices improved by one penny last week to $2.90 per gallon (1.8% y/y) after rising five cents during the prior week. It was the highest level since early-October and roughly matched the 2018 high. Haver Analytics constructs factors adjusting for the seasonal variation in gasoline pump prices. The seasonally-adjusted price held steady at $2.80 per gallon, also near the one-year high.
After weeks of strength, West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices backed off to an average of $62.91 per barrel last week (-8.0% y/y). That came after rising to an average $65.26 in the prior period. The latest price was the lowest in four weeks. Yesterday, prices eased to $62.25 per barrel. Brent crude oil prices fell to an average of $71.42 per barrel last week (-3.4% y/y) from its four-week high of $73.82. The price was $71.48 yesterday.
Natural gas prices improved to $2.59/mmbtu last week (-5.8% y/y) then slipped to $2.54 yesterday. These remained the lowest prices since February 2018 and below the early-March high of $3.28/mmbtu.
In the four-weeks ending April 26, gasoline demand rose 1.5% y/y, while total petroleum product demand improved 0.5% y/y. Gasoline inventories declined 4.7% y/y, while inventories of all petroleum products gained 2.5% y/y. Crude oil input to refineries fell 2.9% y/y in the last four weeks.
These data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The price data can be found in Haver's WEEKLY and DAILY databases. Greater detail on prices, as well as the demand, production and inventory data, along with regional breakdowns, are in OILWKLY.
Weekly Energy Prices | 5/6/19 | 4/29/19 | 4/22/19 | Y/Y % | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Retail Gasoline ($ per Gallon Regular, Monday Price, End of Period) | 2.90 | 2.89 | 2.84 | 1.8 | 2.27 | 2.47 | 2.31 |
Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl, Previous Week's Average) | 62.91 | 65.26 | 63.80 | -8.0 | 64.95 | 50.87 | 43.22 |
Natural Gas ($/mmbtu, LA, Previous Week's Average) | 2.59 | 2.56 | 2.63 | -5.8 | 3.15 | 2.96 | 2.49 |