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Economy in Brief
U.S. FHFA House Prices Continued to Rise in April
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U.S. Advance Trade Deficit Narrowed Slightly in May
The advance estimate of the U.S. international trade deficit in goods narrowed to $104.3 billion in May...
U.S. Energy Prices Decline
The AAA retail price of gasoline fell seven cents to $4.94 per gallon (+60.4% y/y) in the week ended June 24...
French Consumer Worries Intensify in the Wake of Russia Attack
French confidence is weak in June 2022...
U.S. Durable Goods Orders Firm in May
Manufacturers' new orders for durable goods exhibited unexpected improvement in May...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller June 2, 2021
• Gasoline prices remain strong versus last year.
• Crude oil prices rise further.
• Natural gas prices decline again.
Retail gasoline prices rose to $3.03 per gallon (53.3% y/y) in the week ended May 31 and recaptured the prior week's easing to $3.02. Prices have strengthened by one-half y/y and have increased from the November average of $2.11. Haver Analytics adjusts the gasoline price series for normal seasonal variation. The seasonally adjusted price rose one penny to $2.82 per gallon last week.
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose to $66.36 per barrel (94.0% y/y) in the week ended May 28. Yesterday, the price strengthened to $67.72 per barrel. The average price of Brent crude oil increased to $68.46 per barrel (90.5% y/y) last week from $67.20 during the week prior. The price rose yesterday to $70.46 per barrel.
The price of natural gas declined to $2.86/mmbtu (61.6% y/y) in the week ended May 28 after falling to $2.91/mmbtu during the prior week. The price rebounded yesterday to $3.02/mmbtu.
In the four weeks ended May 21, gasoline demand rose 30.7% y/y and demand for all petroleum products rose 25.1% y/y. Crude oil input to refineries rose 17.3% y/y. Gasoline inventories dropped 8.8% y/y, while crude oil inventories declined 5.5% y/y.
The supply of gasoline inventories in the week ending May 21 was 25.6 days, down from 32.1 days in February. The supply of crude oil inventories eased to 32.0 days from 39.7 days in March.
These data are reported by the Energy Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy. The price data can be found in Haver's WEEKLY and DAILY databases. Greater detail on prices, as well as the demand, production and inventory data are in USENERGY.
Weekly Energy Prices | 05/31/21 | 05/24/21 | 05/17/21 | Y/Y % | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Retail Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular, Monday) | 3.03 | 3.02 | 3.03 | 53.3 | 2.24 | 2.57 | 2.27 |
Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl, Previous Week's Average) | 66.36 | 64.15 | 65.09 | 94.0 | 39.43 | 56.91 | 64.95 |
Natural Gas ($/mmbtu, LA, Previous Week's Average) | 2.86 | 2.91 | 2.93 | 61.6 | 2.03 | 2.57 | 3.18 |