Global| Nov 14 2012U.S. Gasoline Prices Decline Again
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Gasoline prices are being helped lower by reduced seasonal pressure. Last week, the pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell another four cents (+0.4%) to $3.45 per gallon. Since their September peak prices have fallen 43 [...]
Gasoline prices are being helped lower by reduced seasonal pressure. Last week, the pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell another four cents (+0.4%) to $3.45 per gallon. Since their September peak prices have fallen 43 cents per gallon. Haver Analytics constructs seasonal factors to account for usual volatility and the adjusted price fell one penny w/w to $3.64 per gallon. Since their peak last month prices are down 22 cents per gallon.
The demand for gasoline rose a minimal 0.2% y/y. Residual fuel oil needs, used for heating, fell 13.6% y/y and distillate demand dropped 15.3% y/y. Lending some support to prices was a minimal 0.9% y/y decline in gasoline inventories.
The price for a barrel of light sweet crude oil held roughly steady at $85.99 per barrel and yesterday slipped to $85.38. Brent crude oil prices inched up last week to $108.92 per barrel and were $109.08 yesterday.
Natural gas prices fell last week to $3.39 per mmbtu but yesterday bounced upward to $3.58.
The energy price data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy and can be found in Haver's WEEKLY database. The daily figures are in DAILY and the gasoline demand figures are in OILWKLY.
| Weekly Price | 11/12/12 | 11/05/12 | 10/29/12 | Y/Y% | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Regular Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular) | 3.45 | 3.49 | 3.57 | 0.4 | 3.52 | 2.78 | 2.35 |
| Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl.) | 85.99 | 85.88 | 86.69 | -11.3 | 95.14 | 79.51 | 61.39 |
| Natural Gas ($/mmbtu) | 3.39 | 3.44 | 3.39 | -0.6 | 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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