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Economy in Brief
U.S. Trade Deficit Widens to $68.2 Billion in January
The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services widened to $68.2 billion in January...
U.S. Factory Orders & Shipments Rise Again in January
Manufacturing activity is strengthening. Factory orders rose 2.6% (2.8% y/y) in January...
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...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Sandy Batten July 9, 2019
After falling for seven consecutive weeks, U.S. retail gasoline prices increased for the second consecutive week in the week ended July 8, rising to $2.74 per gallon (-4.0% y/y) from $2.71 in the previous week. Haver Analytics adjusts for the seasonal variation in gasoline pump prices. The seasonally adjusted price increased to $2.65 per gallon from $2.63.
After having risen in each of the previous two weeks, the average price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped to $57.44 (-22.1% y/y) in the week ended July 5 from $58.38 in the previous week. Yesterday, prices rose 15 cents from Friday to $57.66 per barrel. Brent crude oil prices also edged down to an average of $63.54 (-18.0% y/y) last week from $65.15 per barrel in the previous week. Yesterday, the price slipped 37 cents from Friday to $63.94.
The price of U.S. natural gas continued its decline, falling to $2.31/mmbtu (-19.4% y/y) in the week ended July 5, its seventh consecutive weekly decline, the lowest price since November 2016 and well below last November's high of $4.67/mmbtu. It averaged $2.34/mmbtu in the previous week.
For the four-weeks ending June 28, U.S. gasoline demand edged down 0.1% y/y, while total petroleum product demand was essentially unchanged from a year ago. U.S. gasoline inventories declined 3.8%y/y, but inventories of all petroleum products were up 4.6% y/y. Crude oil input to U.S. refineries was 2.4% lower than a year ago.
These data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The price data can be found in Haver's WEEKLY and DAILY databases. Greater detail on prices, as well as the demand, production and inventory data, including regional breakdowns, are in OILWKLY.
Weekly Energy Prices | 7/8/2019 | 7/1/2019 | 6/24/2019 | Y/Y % | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Retail Gasoline ($ per Gallon Regular, Monday Price, End of Period) | 2.74 | 2.71 | 2.65 | -4.0 | 2.27 | 2.47 | 2.31 |
Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl, Previous Week's Average) | 57.44 | 58.38 | 54.75 | -22.1 | 64.95 | 50.87 | 43.22 |
Natural Gas ($/mmbtu, LA, Previous Week's Average) | 2.31 | 2.34 | 2.40 | -19.4 | 3.15 | 2.96 | 2.49 |