U.S. Energy Prices Fall in Latest Week
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Gasoline prices weaken.
- Crude oil prices decline sharply.
- Natural gas prices ease.
Retail gasoline prices for all grades, on average, dipped to $3.24 per gallon (-8.1% y/y) last week after rising to $3.27 one week earlier. Prices remained above their low of $3.13 in the week of December 9. The recent high was $3.79 in the week ending April 22, 2024. Their all-time high of $5.11 occurred in the week ending June 13, 2022. The retail price for on-highway diesel fuel fell to $3.75 per gallon (+1.3% y/y) in the week of August 11 after easing to $3.80 in the prior week. The latest diesel price stood well below a high of $4.63 in the week ending September 18, 2023 and a peak of $5.81 in the week ending June 20, 2022.
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil declined to $64.71 per barrel (-14.6% y/y) in the week ended August 8 from $68.50 in the prior week. The drop left prices at the lowest level since the first week of June. Prices, nonetheless, remained above a $59.04 low in the second week of May. The cost of crude oil peaked at $120.46 in the week of June 10, 2022. Yesterday, the price was $63.96 per barrel. The price of European Brent crude fell to $68.17 per barrel (-13.5% y/y) in the week of August 8, after rising to $70.09 in the prior week. Prices remained below a recent high of $95.61 in the week of September 29, 2023 and below a peak of $127.40 in June 2022. The price was $67.36 per gallon yesterday.
Natural gas prices slipped to an average $2.99/mmbtu (+59.0% y/y) in the week ended August 8, after falling to an average $3.03/mmbtu in the prior week. Prices remained well above a low of $1.40/mmbtu in the week of March 15, 2024 but below their peak of $9.56 in the week of August 26, 2022. Yesterday, the price was $3.05 per mmbtu.
Gasoline demand declined 2.2% y/y in the four weeks ending August 1, following a 3.0% y/y decline in the prior four weeks. Demand for all petroleum products rose 1.6% y/y in the four weeks ending August 1, after a 1.5% y/y increase in the previous four-week period. Crude oil input to refineries rose 2.9% y/y in the four weeks ending August 1, after a 1.7% y/y gain in the prior four weeks.
Gasoline inventories rose 0.9% y/y in the week ending August 1 after a 2.1% y/y in the prior week. Residual fuel oil inventories fell 25.8% y/y in the week of August 1, after a 22.5% y/y fall in the prior week. Crude oil inventories rose 2.7% y/y in the week of August, after a 2.6% y/y rise in the previous week.
Measured in days’ supply, gasoline inventories held at 25.5 days in the week of August 1. The recent low was 22.9 days in the week of November 8, 2024. The supply of crude oil eased to 25.0 days in the week of August 1 from 25.2 days in the prior week and remained below a high of 31.9 days in the week of March 3, 2023.
These data are reported by the Energy Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy. The price and supply/demand data can be found in Haver’s WEEKLY & USENERGY database.
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.
