Global| Dec 18 2012U.S. Gasoline & Crude Oil Prices Both Decline
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Petroleum prices continue under pressure. The pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell another ten cents last week (+0.8% y/y) to $3.25 per gallon. Since their September peak prices have fallen sixty three cents per gallon. [...]
Petroleum prices continue under pressure. The pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell another ten cents last week (+0.8% y/y) to $3.25 per gallon. Since their September peak prices have fallen sixty three cents per gallon. The norm for this time of year of less driving is for prices to decline. Haver Analytics constructs seasonal factors to account for seasonal volatility and the adjusted price fell a lesser seven cents w/w to $3.65 per gallon. Since their October peak prices are down 21 cents per gallon.
The price for a barrel of light sweet crude oil also fell last week to $86.15 per barrel (-12.6% y/y) but yesterday prices ticked higher to $86.73. Brent crude oil prices nudged up last week to $109.05 per barrel but fell back yesterday to $108.67 .
Natural gas prices continued down last week to $3.30 per mmbtu (+6.8% y/y) and slipped further to $3.15 yesterday.
The demand for gasoline fell 1.3% y/y last week but the demand trend has firmed substantially. Residual fuel oil needs, used for heating, fell 14.1% y/y while distillate demand slipped 0.7% y/y. Inventories of crude oil & petroleum products rose 2.1% y/y.
The energy price data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy and can be found in Haver's WEEKLY database. The daily figures are in DAILY and the gasoline demand figures are in OILWKLY.
| Weekly Price | 12/17/12 | 12/10/12 | 12/03/12 | Y/Y% | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Regular Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular) | 3.25 | 3.35 | 3.39 | 0.8 | 3.52 | 2.78 | 2.35 |
| Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl.) | 86.15 | 87.53 | 87.68 | -10.1 | 95.14 | 79.51 | 61.39 |
| Natural Gas ($/mmbtu) | 3.30 | 3.39 | 3.67 | 6.8 | 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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