Global| Jul 30 2013U.S. Petroleum Prices Slip<
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell to $3.65 last week (3.9% y/y) and reversed most of the prior week's gain. Nevertheless, prices remained near the highest price since March. Haver Analytics constructs seasonal factors to [...]
The price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell to $3.65 last week (3.9% y/y) and reversed most of the prior week's gain. Nevertheless, prices remained near the highest price since March. Haver Analytics constructs seasonal factors to account for seasonal volatility. The adjusted price fell to $3.56 per gallon. It remained below the February peak of $3.94.
Light sweet crude oil prices slipped to $105.94 per barrel (+19.0% y/y). Prices nevertheless remained well above the June 2012 low of $80.29. Yesterday prices fell further to $104.55. Brent crude oil prices also fell last week to $108.09 per barrel (3.4% y/y), but they remained down from the February high of $118.50.
Natural gas prices stabilized last week at $3.71 per mmbtu (26.9% y/y) and were $3.70 yesterday, down from the April peak of $4.26.
The demand for gasoline rose 2.3% y/y last week while the arrival of the summer driving season raised gasoline demand 7.4% since the April low. Residual fuel oil needs, used for heating, gained 7.1% y/y and distillate demand jumped 12.0% y/y. Gasoline inventories jumped 9.1% y/y.
The energy price data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy and can be found in Haver's WEEKLY database. The daily figures are in DAILY and the gasoline demand figures are in OILWKLY.
| Weekly Energy Prices | 07/29/13 | 07/22/13 | 07/15/13 | Y/Y% | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular) | 3.65 | 3.68 | 3.64 | 3.9 | 3.62 | 3.52 | 2.78 |
| Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl.) | 105.94 | 106.98 | 104.81 | 19.0 | 94.20 | 95.14 | 79.51 |
| Natural Gas ($/mmbtu) | 3.67 | 3.71 | 3.66 | 17.7 | 2.75 | 3.99 | 4.00 |
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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