U.S. Gasoline & Crude Oil Prices Weaken
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Gasoline prices retrace March gains.
- Crude oil prices fall moderately.
- Natural gas prices continue to strengthen.
Retail gasoline prices declined to $4.17 per gallon in the week ended April 4 (+46.0% y/y) from $4.23 per gallon in the week prior. Prices reached a record $4.32 per gallon in the second week of March. Haver Analytics adjusts the gasoline price series for normal seasonal variation. The seasonally adjusted price fell to $4.21 per gallon from $4.24 in the prior week.
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell to $103.83 per barrel (+71.2% y/y) in the week ended April 1 after increasing to $113.33 in the week prior. Yesterday, the price eased to $103.28 per barrel. The average price of Brent crude oil fell to $$111.26 per barrel last week (+74.7% y/y) after rising to $123.60 in the prior week. The price was $108.15 per barrel yesterday.
The price of natural gas strengthened to $5.41/mmbtu (113.0% y/y) in the week of April 1 after rising to $5.15 in the previous week. It was the highest price since early-February. Prices remain below the high of $5.78/mmbtu in the third week of February 2022. Yesterday, the price rose to $5.72/mmbtu.
In the four weeks ended March 25, gasoline demand rose a greatly reduced 1.0% y/y, down from 15.2% y/y late in December. Growth in demand for all petroleum products fell to 8.1% y/y, the weakest growth in four years. Growth in crude oil input to refineries rose a lessened 14.0% y/y. Gasoline inventories rose 3.6% y/y but crude oil inventories declined 14.2% y/y.
The supply of gasoline inventories in the week ended March 25 rose slightly to 27.3 days. The supply of crude oil eased to 26.1 days and remained down from 41.8 days early in 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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