Global| Apr 24 2012U.S. Energy Prices Fall With Lower Demand
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell a nickel last week to $3.87. Nevertheless, the current level remained up sixty four cents (20%) since year-end. Haver Analytics' seasonally-adjusted price for regular fell eight [...]
The pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell a nickel last week to $3.87. Nevertheless, the current level remained up sixty four cents (20%) since year-end. Haver Analytics' seasonally-adjusted price for regular fell eight cents to $3.76 per gallon, the fourth consecutive week down. Yesterday, the wholesale price for a gallon of unleaded was $3.12 versus $3.16 averaged last week.
Natural gas prices fell again last week to $1.86 per mmbtu, down 56.4% y/y. Yesterday, prices stabilized at $1.92 but were off from the early-January 2010 peak of $6.50. With mild Winter temperatures and reduced demand, the quantity of natural gas in storage increased 55.8% y/y.
Reduced driving and improved fuel economy lowered the demand for gasoline by a lessened 2.8% y/y last week. The demand for residual fuel oil demand, used for heating, fell 7.1% y/y while distillate demand was off 0.5% y/y. Inventories of crude oil and petroleum products ticked up 0.4% year-to-year. That comparison was improved, however, compared to the -5.0% figures this past Fall.
The price for a barrel of light sweet crude oil increased last week to $103.02 and remained up sharply versus the low of $79.71 this past October. Yesterday, the cost of crude was $103.11 per barrel. Prices peaked at $113.93 last April. Brent crude fell last week to $117.24 per barrel and fell further to $116.41 yesterday.
The energy price data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy and can be found in Haver's WEEKLY database. The daily figures are in DAILY and the gasoline demand figures are in OILWKLY.
Credit: A Starring Role in the Downturn from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco is available here.
| Weekly Price | 04/23/12 | 04/16/12 | 04/09/12 | Y/Y% | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Regular Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular) | 3.87 | 3.92 | 3.94 | -0.2 | 3.52 | 2.78 | 2.35 |
| Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl.) | 103.02 | 102.53 | 103.51 | -6.0 | 95.14 | 79.51 | 61.39 |
| Natural Gas ($/mmbtu) | 1.86 | 1.93 | 1.98 | -56.4 | 3.99 | 4.40 | 3.95 |
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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