Global| Jun 03 2008U.S. Gasoline Price Higher ... Demand Lower
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The retail price for a gallon of regular gasoline rose another four cents last week to $3.98 per gallon, according to the U.S. Department of Energy survey. The rise followed the previous week's fifteen cent increase and it raised [...]
The retail price for a gallon of regular gasoline rose another four cents last week to $3.98 per gallon, according to the U.S. Department of Energy survey. The rise followed the previous week's fifteen cent increase and it raised gasoline prices by nearly one-third just since yearend '07.
Yesterday, the spot market price for a gallon of regular gasoline rose to $3.27, up another three cents from last week's average.
Weekly gasoline prices can be found in Haver's WEEKLY database, daily prices are in the DAILY database.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy the increase in gasoline prices, along with the slowdown in economic growth, have lowered the demand for gasoline during the latest four weeks by 0.7% from a year earlier. Refinery production of gasoline is down roughly 1.0% during that period. 
The DOE figures are available in Haver's OILWKLY database.
During all of last week, the price of a barrel of WTI crude oil slipped w/w to an average of $128.47. Yesterday the price slipped further to $127.76.Natural gas prices rose to the highest level since late 2005. At $11.669/mmbtu, last week's average price was up 52.9% versus a year earlier and it was at its highest level since December of 2005.
This morning's remarks by Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke on the economic outlook are available here.
| Weekly Prices | 06/02/08 | 05/26/08 | Y/Y | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Regular Gasoline ($ per Gallon) | 3.98 | 3.94 | 25.9% | 2.80 | 2.57 | 2.27 |
| Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl.) | 128.47 | 130.15 | 100.9% | 72.25 | 66.12 | 56.60 |
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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