Global| Apr 29 2014U.S. Gasoline Prices Continue Upward
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The price for a gallon of regular gasoline increased to $3.71 last week, up 5.5% y/y. The price is close to the $3.78 per gallon peak reached in February of last year. To account for seasonal volatility, Haver Analytics constructs [...]
The price for a gallon of regular gasoline increased to $3.71 last week, up 5.5% y/y. The price is close to the $3.78 per gallon peak reached in February of last year. To account for seasonal volatility, Haver Analytics constructs factors for adjustment of pump prices. The adjusted cost of gasoline rose to $3.49 per gallon last week but has been moving sideways since the end of December.
The demand for all petroleum products declined 1.6% y/y last week. Gasoline demand increased 1.8%. Residual fuel oil needs, used for heating, declined 36.4% y/y while distillate demand improved 5.2% y/y. Inventories of crude oil and petroleum products slipped 0.9% y/y.
The per barrel cost of WTI crude oil fell back last week to $102.00 (+11.8% y/y) and remained below the $108.67 high in early September. The seasonally adjusted price of $94.07 per barrel is at the low end of its range since mid-2013. Yesterday prices declined further to 100.84. Brent crude oil prices rose last week to $109.38 (8.3% y/y) but yesterday slipped to $108.64 per barrel.
Natural gas prices improved w/w to $4.65 per mmbtu (9.4% y/y), but still were nearly the lowest level in two months.
The energy price data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy and can be found in Haver's WEEKLY database. The daily figures are in DAILY and the petroleum demand and inventory figures are in OILWKLY.
| Weekly Energy Prices | 04/28/14 | 04/21/14 | 04/14/14 | Y/Y% | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular) | 3.71 | 3.68 | 3.65 | 5.5 | 3.51 | 3.62 | 3.52 |
| Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl., WSJ) | 102.00 | 103.95 | 102.72 | 11.8 | 97.95 | 94.20 | 95.14 |
| Natural Gas ($/mmbtu, LA) | -- | 4.65 | 4.63 | 9.4 | 3.73 | 2.75 | 3.99 |
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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