Global| Mar 13 2012U.S. Gasoline Prices Move Higher While Natural Gas Plunges
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Regular gasoline prices rose another four cents last week to $3.83 per gallon. Reduced seasonal demand typically fosters lower gasoline prices this time of year, and they haven't followed the norm. Haver Analytics' seasonally-adjusted [...]
Regular gasoline prices rose another four cents last week to $3.83 per gallon. Reduced seasonal demand typically fosters lower gasoline prices this time of year, and they haven't followed the norm. Haver Analytics' seasonally-adjusted price for regular unleaded held steady at a record $3.94 for the third consecutive week. Yesterday, the wholesale price for a gallon of unleaded was $3.08 versus $3.03 averaged last week.
Natural gas prices also have been quite weak and fell twenty cents last week to $2.24 per mmbtu and remained down 41.0% y/y. Yesterday prices fell further to $2.16 and were the lowest since 2001, down from the early-January 2010 peak of $6.50.
The price for a barrel of light sweet crude oil slipped last week to $106.31 but still was up sharply from the low of $79.71 this past October. Yesterday, the price held at $106.34. Prices peaked at $113.93 last April. Brent crude rose last week to $126.57 per barrel and increased further yesterday to a new high of $127.34.
Gasoline demand fell 7.8% last week on average versus last year. Demand for residual fuel oil, used for heating, was off by nearly one-half y/y and distillate demand was off 7.6% y/y. Inventories of crude oil and petroleum products fell 1.20% year-to-year compared to a 10.0% rise during mid-2009.
The energy price data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy and can be found in Haver's WEEKLY database. The daily figures are in DAILY and the gasoline demand figures are in OILWKLY.
| Weekly Price | 03/12/12 | 03/05/12 | 02/27/12 | Y/Y% | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Regular Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular) | 3.83 | 3.79 | 3.72 | 7.3 | 3.52 | 2.78 | 2.35 |
| Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl.) | 106.31 | 107.49 | 107.43 | 2.5 | 95.14 | 79.51 | 61.39 |
| Natural Gas ($/mmbtu) | 2.24 | 2.44 | 2.63 | -41.0 | 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.
