Global| Sep 17 2013U.S. Energy Prices Slip
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell 4 cents last week to $3.55 (-8.5% y/y). Prices remained down from the $3.78 per gallon peak reached late in February. Haver Analytics constructs seasonal factors to account for seasonal [...]
The price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell 4 cents last week to $3.55 (-8.5% y/y). Prices remained down from the $3.78 per gallon peak reached late in February. Haver Analytics constructs seasonal factors to account for seasonal volatility. The adjusted price also fell 4 cents w/w to $3.42 per gallon and remained below the February peak of $3.94.
Light sweet crude oil prices fell to $108.29 per barrel (10.9% y/y) but remained near the highest level since April 2011. Yesterday, prices declined further to $106.59. Prices remained up from the June 2012 low of $80.29. Brent crude oil prices also declined last week to $113.07 per barrel (-2.1% y/y) and they remained down from the February high of $118.09.
Natural gas prices slipped to $3.62 per mmbtu (+26.5% y/y) and were $3.68 yesterday, down from the April peak of $4.26.
The demand for gasoline slipped 0.2% y/y last week. Residual fuel oil needs, used for heating, gained 8.2% y/y while distillate demand increased 8.5% y/y. Gasoline inventories increased 10.1% y/y.
The energy price data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy and can be found in Haver's WEEKLY database. The daily figures are in DAILY and the gasoline demand figures are in OILWKLY.
Forecasting Inflation and the Great Recession from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago can be found here.
| Weekly Energy Prices | 09/16/13 | 09/09/13 | 09/02/13 | Y/Y% | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular) | 3.55 | 3.59 | 3.61 | -8.5 | 3.62 | 3.52 | 2.78 |
| Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl.) | 108.29 | 108.77 | 108.33 | 10.9 | 94.20 | 95.14 | 79.51 |
| Natural Gas ($/mmbtu, LA) | 3.62 | 3.65 | 3.55 | 26.5 | 2.75 | 3.99 | 4.00 |
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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