Global| Mar 10 2009U.S. Gasoline Prices Are Stable; Crude Oil Prices Rise
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Regular gasoline prices were roughly stable last week, up one penny to $1.94 per gallon. That left the price still near the middle of the $1.89 to $1.96 range in place since early February but the latest was up 33 cents from the [...]
Regular gasoline prices were roughly stable last week, up one penny to $1.94 per gallon. That left the price still near the middle of the $1.89 to $1.96 range in place since early February but the latest was up 33 cents from the December low. Yesterday, the spot market price for regular gasoline was also about stable at $1.23. The figures are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Weekly gasoline prices can be found in Haver's WEEKLY database. Daily prices are in the DAILY database.
Gasoline demand continued downward last week, according to the U.S. Energy Department. The y/y change of -0.4%, however, has moderated from the rate of decline seen last October when demand was falling 4.8% y/y. (Gasoline prices at the time were just off their peak.) The change in demand is measured using the latest four weeks versus the same four weeks in 2008. Demand for all petroleum products was down 1.3% year-to-year after the -8.0% comparison last October. These numbers are available in Haver's OILWKLY database.
The price for a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose last week to $43.26 per barrel. That pulled prices to the high end of their recent range between $37.00 and $44.50 per barrel. Prices reached a high of $145.66 last July. In futures trading yesterday, the one-month price for crude oil rose even further to $47.07 per barrel. Last week's average was $43.26 and the February low was $36.91.
Also reported by the U.S. Energy Information Agency was that inventories of crude oil & petroleum products rose 6.2% year-to-year after a 7.5% decumulation rate this past September. Distillate fuel oil inventories have risen by 21.8% year-to-year while gasoline inventories are off 8.0%. These demand & inventory figures also are available in Haver's OILWKLY database.
The price of natural gas ticked up last week to $4.24 per mmbtu (-55.2% y/y), near the lowest level since September 2006. The latest average price was down more than two-thirds from the high reached in early-July of $13.19/mmbtu.
| Weekly Prices | 03/09/09 | 03/02/09 | Y/Y | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Regular Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular) | 1.94 | 1.93 | -39.8% | 3.25 | 2.80 | 2.57 |
| Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl.) | 43.26 | 41.81 | -58.2% | 100.16 | 72.25 | 66.12 |
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.
More Economy in Brief
