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Economy in Brief
Economy Watchers Index Improves as Outlook Spurts
The economy watchers current index improved smartly to 41.3 in February from 31.2 in January...
U.S. Payrolls Surge in February and Jobless Rate Slips
Nonfarm payroll employment surged 379,000 (-6.0% y/y) during February...
U.S. Consumer Credit Outstanding Declines in January
Consumers reduced credit balances further in January...
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...
German Order Growth Gets Back in Gear Despite the Headwinds
German order growth is back in gear with total orders rising by 1.4% m/m in January...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller January 26, 2021
• Gasoline prices edge higher to March 2020 peak.
• Oil prices increase to last February's high.
• Natural gas prices weaken after two weeks of improvement.
The price of regular gasoline rose to $2.39 per gallon (-4.5% y/y) in the week ended January 25 from $2.38 per gallon in the previous week. It was the highest price since the first week of March 2020. Haver Analytics adjusts the gasoline price series for normal seasonal variation. The seasonally adjusted price rose to $2.61 per gallon last week from $2.58 in the previous week.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices edged up to an average of $52.83 per barrel (-6.0% y/y) in the week ended January 22, remaining the highest reading since the third week of February 2020. The price remained up versus the $17.47 per barrel low averaged in April of last year. The average price of Brent crude oil eased to $55.59 (-12.0% y/y) last week from an eleven-month high of $55.91 per barrel in the previous week.
The price of natural gas fell to $2.54/mmbtu (+31.4% y/y) in the week ended January 22 from $2.82/mmbtu in the previous week. Prices remained substantially higher than the $1.52/mmbtu low in the third week of June.
In the four weeks ended January 15, gasoline demand fell 6.3% y/y. Crude oil input to refineries fell 12.4% y/y. Gasoline inventories fell 5.7% y/y while inventories of all petroleum products rose 2.5% y/y. The supply of gasoline in inventory in the week ended January 15 was 31.4 days, up from a recent low of 26.4 days in mid-October.
These data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The price data can be found in Haver's WEEKLY and DAILY databases. Greater detail on prices, as well as the demand, production and inventory data are in USENERGY.
Weekly Energy Prices | 01/25/21 | 01/18/21 | 01/11/21 | Y/Y % | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Retail Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular, Monday) | 2.39 | 2.38 | 2.32 | -4.5 | 2.24 | 2.57 | 2.27 |
Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl, Previous Week's Average) | 52.83 | 52.79 | 50.23 | -6.0 | 39.43 | 56.91 | 64.95 |
Natural Gas ($/mmbtu, LA, Previous Week's Average) | 2.54 | 2.82 | 2.74 | 31.4 | 2.03 | 2.57 | 3.18 |