Global| Jul 21 2009Gasoline Prices Fall Again
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Recession in the U.S. economy prompted a lower retail price for gasoline last week. The pump price for regular gasoline fell to an average $2.46 per gallon, down twenty-three cents from last month's high. Nevertheless, prices remained [...]
Recession in the U.S. economy prompted a lower retail price for gasoline last week. The pump price for regular gasoline fell to an average $2.46 per gallon, down twenty-three cents from last month's high. Nevertheless, prices remained up by eighty-five cents (53%) from the December low. In the cash market, gasoline prices yesterday continued to rally off last week's low. At $1.75 per gallon the price was up from the low of $1.60. The figures are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy and can be found in Haver's WEEKLY & DAILY databases.
Crude oil prices also fell last week, but not by as much as gasoline costs. Light sweet crude oil prices (WTI) fell to $61.27 per barrel, off nearly ten dollars from last week's high of $70.83. Yesterday the one-month futures price for light sweet crude oil recovered and moved up to $63.98 per barrel. Prices had reached a daily high of $72.68.
The ongoing recession lowered the demand for motor gasoline by 2.2% y/y during the last four weeks. The rate of decline has moderated from the 4.8% shortfall this past autumn. Demand for distillate also is off by a sharp 21.5% though residual fuel oil demand has moved higher. Finally, oil remains plentiful as evidenced by a 13.7% y/y rise in inventories of crude oil & petroleum products. The figures on crude oil inventories are available in Haver's OILWKLY database.
The weakening of natural gas prices stabilized last week at the seven-year low. Last week's average price of $3.28 per mmbtu (-70.8% y/y) was down by three-quarters from the high reached in early-July of $13.19/mmbtu.
| Weekly Prices | 07/20/09 | 07/13/09 | Y/Y | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Regular Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular) | 2.46 | 2.53 | -39.4% | 3.25 | 2.80 | 2.57 |
| Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl.) | 61.27 | 61.48 | -54.7% | 100.16 | 72.25 | 66.12 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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