Global| Aug 27 2019U.S. Gasoline Prices Fall Further While Weekly Crude and Nat Gas Prices Edge Up
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The U.S. pump price for gasoline eased to $2.57 per gallon (-8.9% y/y) last week from the prior week's $2.60 per gallon. Prices have fallen for six consecutive weeks. Haver Analytics calculates a series which is adjusted for the [...]
The U.S. pump price for gasoline eased to $2.57 per gallon (-8.9% y/y) last week from the prior week's $2.60 per gallon. Prices have fallen for six consecutive weeks. Haver Analytics calculates a series which is adjusted for the seasonal variation in gasoline pump prices. The seasonally adjusted price fell to $2.50 per gallon from $2.52 in the prior week, again the sixth consecutive weekly decline.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices edged up to $55.52 per barrel (-18.1% y/y) in the week ended August 23 from $55.31 in the previous week. This was the third weekly increase in the past four weeks. Yesterday, the price of WTI slipped to $53.64 from $54.17 on Friday. Brent crude oil price rose to $60.01 per barrel (-18.7% y/y) last week compared to an average $59.15 per barrel in the previous week. Yesterday, the price was $58.83 versus $60.05 on Friday.
The price of natural gas increased to $2.27 per mmbtu (-24.6% y/y) in the week ended August 23 from $2.21/mmbtu averaged in the previous week. This was the second consecutive weekly increase. Yesterday, the price of natural gas was $2.23/mmbtu versus $2.15/mmbtu on Friday.
For the four-weeks ending August 16, U.S. gasoline demand increased 1.5% y/y on top of a 0.6% y/y gain the previous week while total petroleum product demand rose 3.1% y/y. In the week ended August 16, U.S. gasoline inventories slipped 0.1% y/y, the first annual decline in three weeks while inventories of all petroleum products increased 4.0% y/y. Crude oil input to U.S. refineries fell 1.1% y/y.
These data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The price data can be found in Haver's WEEKLY and DAILY databases. More detail on prices, as well as the demand, production and inventory data, including regional breakdowns, are in OILWKLY.
| Weekly Energy Prices | 8/26/2019 | 8/19/2019 | 8/12/2019 | Y/Y % | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Gasoline ($ per Gallon Regular, Monday Price, End of Period) | 2.60 | 2.62 | 2.69 | -7.9 | 2.27 | 2.47 | 2.31 |
| Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl, Previous Week's Average) | 55.32 | 53.25 | 56.62 | -16.4 | 64.95 | 50.87 | 43.22 |
| Natural Gas ($/mmbtu, LA, Previous Week's Average) | 2.21 | 2.11 | 2.24 | -26.3 | 3.15 | 2.96 | 2.49 |
Sandy Batten
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Sandy Batten has more than 30 years of experience analyzing industrial economies and financial markets and a wide range of experience across the financial services sector, government, and academia. Before joining Haver Analytics, Sandy was a Vice President and Senior Economist at Citibank; Senior Credit Market Analyst at CDC Investment Management, Managing Director at Bear Stearns, and Executive Director at JPMorgan. In 2008, Sandy was named the most accurate US forecaster by the National Association for Business Economics. He is a member of the New York Forecasters Club, NABE, and the American Economic Association. Prior to his time in the financial services sector, Sandy was a Research Officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Senior Staff Economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the US Treasury, and Economist at the International Monetary Fund. Sandy has taught economics at St. Louis University, Denison University, and Muskingun College. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in a wide range of academic publications. He has a B.A. in economics from the University of Richmond and a M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from The Ohio State University.
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