U.S. Gasoline & Oil Prices Decline Again
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
• Retail gasoline & crude oil prices reach five-week lows.
• Natural gas prices rise modestly.
Retail gasoline prices fell to $4.49 per gallon (+42.4% y/y) last week after declining to $4.65 per gallon in the prior week. Prices were at the lowest level since a record $5.01 per gallon in the second week of June.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices fell to $98.69 per barrel (+34.8% y/y) in the week ended July 15 from $102.40 in the prior week. Prices reached a peak $120.46 per barrel in the second week of June. Yesterday the price was $102.60 per barrel. The average price of Brent crude oil declined to $109.80 per barrel (+44.9% y/y) from $113.64 per barrel in the prior week. Yesterday, the price was $117.27 per barrel.
The price of natural gas rose to $6.76/mmbtu (81.2% y/y) in the week of July 15 from $5.90 /mmbtu in the previous week. The latest was the highest price in four weeks, up from a low of $5.90 in the prior week. Yesterday, the price was $7.65/mmbtu.
In the four weeks ended June 10, gasoline demand fell 8.0% y/y. Demand for all petroleum products weakened 4.1% y/y. Crude oil input to refineries increased 2.1% y/y.
Gasoline inventories decreased 4.9% y/y in the week of July 8 while crude oil inventories declined 13.9% y/y.
Measured in days’ supply, gasoline inventories in the week ended July 8 rose to 25.8 days, the most since the end of April. The supply of crude oil was little-changed at 25.9 days, down from 41.8 days in early-March of last year.
These data are reported by the Energy Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy. The price data can be found in Haver's WEEKLY and DAILY databases. Greater detail on prices, as well as the demand, production and inventory data are in USENERGY.
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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