Global| Apr 02 2013U.S. Energy Prices Slip Again; Crude Oil Firms
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Drivers are finally realizing some relief when filling up. The pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell by 3 cents last week to $3.65 per gallon (-7.5% y/y), continuing the modest decline from the late-February high of $3.78. [...]
Drivers are finally realizing some relief when filling up. The pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell by 3 cents last week to $3.65 per gallon (-7.5% y/y), continuing the modest decline from the late-February high of $3.78. Haver Analytics constructs seasonal factors to account for normal seasonal volatility and the adjusted price fell 7 cents w/w to $3.50 per gallon. Prices were down by 30 cents, 7.2%, from one year ago.
The recent decline in gas prices comes in spite of a rise in the price for light sweet crude oil. It increased $3.24 last week to $96.24 per barrel (-8.5% y/y), the highest level since mid-February. Yesterday prices rose further to $97.07. Somewhat less firm have been Brent crude oil prices which were stable last week at $107.48 per barrel (-13.6% y/y) but rose to $109.45 yesterday.
Continuing their recent uptrend were natural gas prices. Last week's increase to $4.05 per mmbtu left them roughly double last year's level. Yesterday, prices held the high ground at $4.04.
The demand for gasoline slipped 0.2% y/y last week. Residual fuel oil needs, used for heating, fell 0.9% y/y while distillate demand increased 5.7% y/y. Inventories of crude oil & petroleum products rose 0.9% y/y.
The energy price data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy and can be found in Haver's WEEKLY database. The daily figures are in DAILY and the gasoline demand figures are in OILWKLY.
Long-term Inflation Expectations from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is available here.
| Weekly Price | 04/01/13 | 03/25/13 | 03/18/13 | Y/Y % | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Regular Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular) | 3.65 | 3.68 | 3.70 | -7.5 | 3.62 | 3.52 | 2.78 |
| Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl.) | 96.24 | 93.00 | 92.64 | -8.5 | 94.20 | 95.14 | 79.51 |
| Natural Gas ($/mmbtu) | 4.05 | 3.99 | 3.76 | 96.8 | 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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