Global| Sep 18 2012U.S. Gasoline Prices Continue Upward
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
For a month and a half gasoline prices have been on the rise. The pump price of regular gasoline rose three cents last week to $3.88 per gallon, the highest level since mid-April. At this is the time of year, seasonal price pressures [...]
For a month and a half gasoline prices have been on the rise. The pump price of regular gasoline rose three cents last week to $3.88 per gallon, the highest level since mid-April. At this is the time of year, seasonal price pressures should be easing with less driving. So when Haver Analytics made the adjustment, the seasonally-adjusted price for regular rose a slightly greater four cents w/w to $3.74 per gallon.
The price for a barrel of light sweet crude oil jumped $1.96 w/w to $97.61 per barrel last week and was up from the late-June weekly low of $80.92. Yesterday, the cost of crude held at $99.00 per barrel. Prices peaked at $113.93 in April, 2011. Brent crude also rose last week to $115.55 per barrel but fell back to $113.94 yesterday. Haver's seasonally adjusted crude oil price rose to $95.52 per barrel.
Natural gas prices increased last week to $2.86 per mmbtu and yesterday rose slightly further to $2.90, still roughly half the early-January 2010 peak of $6.50.
The demand for gasoline slipped 0.1% y/y. The demand for residual fuel oil, used for heating, fell 31.0% y/y and distillate demand was off 11.9% y/y. Inventories of crude oil and petroleum products increased 0.6% y/y. That comparison was improved from the 5.0% y/y decline this past fall.
The energy price data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy and can be found in Haver's WEEKLY database. The daily figures are in DAILY and the gasoline demand figures are in OILWKLY.
| Weekly Price | 09/17/12 | 09/10/12 | 09/03/12 | Y/Y% | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Regular Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular) | 3.88 | 3.85 | 3.84 | 7.7 | 3.52 | 2.78 | 2.35 |
| Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl.) | 97.61 | 95.65 | 95.68 | 9.8 | 95.14 | 79.51 | 61.39 |
| Natural Gas ($/mmbtu) | 2.86 | 2.83 | 2.73 | -27.4 | 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.
More Economy in Brief
