Global| Jul 07 2010U.S. Gasoline and Crude Oil Prices Reverse Earlier Gains
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The pump price for regular gasoline fell last week to $2.73 per gallon last week and reversed the gains during the prior two weeks. Pulled higher by firm demand, prices have risen from the late-2009 level of $2.61. Yesterday, the spot [...]
The pump price for regular gasoline fell last
week to $2.73 per gallon last week and reversed the gains during the prior two
weeks. Pulled higher by firm demand, prices have risen from the late-2009 level
of $2.61. Yesterday, the spot market price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell
to $1.90, just above its lowest this year. The figures are reported by the U.S.
Department of Energy and can be found in Haver's WEEKLY & DAILY databases.
With emerging signs of economic weakness, the average price for a barrel of light sweet crude oil (WTI) fell last week to $74.98 and the price remained down from the high of $84.23 averaged during April. Yesterday crude prices fell further to $71.98 per barrel.
U.S. natural gas prices slipped last week to an average $4.66 per mmbtu (26.4% y/y). Prices remained down from a high of $6.50 early in January.
Demand for gasoline improved 1.5% last week versus one year ago. The demand for residual fuel oil fell by one-third versus last year while distillate demand continued to surge by 10.9% y/y. That's improved from a 12.3% decline during February. Inventories of crude oil and petroleum products have been rising since the Winter but slipped during the last twelve months.
The energy price data can be found in Haver's WEEKLY database while the daily figures are in DAILY. The gasoline demand figures are in OILWKLY.
| Weekly Prices | 07/05/10 | 06/28/10 | 06/21/10 | y/y | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Regular Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular) | 2.73 | 2.76 | 2.74 | 4.4% | 2.35 | 3.25 | 2.80 |
| Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl.) | 74.98 | 77.11 | 76.74 | 8.1% | 61.39 | 100.16 | 72.25 |
| Natural Gas ($/mmbtu) | 4.66 | 4.93 | 5.10 | 26.4% | 3.95 | 8.88 | 6.97 |
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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