Global| Aug 07 2012U.S. Gasoline Prices Reach Highest Level Since May
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
They've been rising for the last five weeks. But last week the pump price of regular gasoline jumped fourteen cents to $3.65 per gallon. Since the low, prices have risen 29 cents (8.6%), the highest since the last week of May. Haver [...]
They've been rising for the last five weeks. But last week the pump price of regular gasoline jumped fourteen cents to $3.65 per gallon. Since the low, prices have risen 29 cents (8.6%), the highest since the last week of May. Haver Analytics' seasonally-adjusted price for regular rose eleven cents w/w to $3.42 per gallon. This seasonally adjusted price is lower than the actual because gas prices typically rise with the summer driving season.
The price for a barrel of light sweet crude oil held roughly stable w/w at $89.06, up from the late June weekly low of $80.92. Yesterday, the cost of crude rose further to $92.20 per barrel. Prices peaked at $113.93 in April, 2011. Brent crude increased last week to $107.01 per barrel and rose further yesterday to $110.54.
Natural gas prices held steady at $3.12 per mmbtu last week, the highest level since mid-December. Yesterday, prices fell back to $2.91 and still were roughly half the early-January 2010 peak of $6.50.
Reduced driving and improved fuel economy lowered the demand for gasoline by 3.4% y/y last week. The demand for residual fuel oil, used for heating, was off 20.2% y/y and distillate demand was off 2.4% y/y. Inventories of crude oil and petroleum products slipped 0.3% y/y. That comparison was improved versus the 5.0% y/y decline this past fall.
The energy price data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy and can be found in Haver's WEEKLY database. The daily figures are in DAILY and the gasoline demand figures are in OILWKLY.
| Weekly Price | 08/06/12 | 07/30/12 | 07/23/12 | Y/Y% | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Regular Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular) | 3.65 | 3.51 | 3.49 | -0.8 | 3.52 | 2.78 | 2.35 |
| Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl.) | 89.06 | 89.03 | 90.32 | -1.9 | 95.14 | 79.51 | 61.39 |
| Natural Gas ($/mmbtu) | 3.12 | 3.12 | 2.92 | -25.7 | 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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