U.S. Gasoline & Oil Prices Increase; Natural Gas Costs Ease
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Gasoline prices continue their upward trek.
- Crude oil prices rise further.
- Natural gas prices slip.
Energy product prices remain firm. Retail gasoline prices rose to $3.49 per gallon (39.4% y/y) in the week ended February 14 from $3.44 in the previous week. Prices stood at the highest level since the first week of July, 2014. Haver Analytics adjusts the gasoline price series for normal seasonal variation. The seasonally adjusted price increased to $3.60 per gallon last week from $3.57 in the prior week.
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose to $90.64 per barrel (54.8% y/y) in the week of February 11 from $89.64 in the prior week. It remained the highest price since the first week of October 2014. Yesterday, the price rose to $95.46 per barrel. The average price of Brent crude oil increased to $92.10 (50.2% y/y) from $90.35 in the prior week. The price strengthened to $96.13 per barrel yesterday.
The price of natural gas fell to $4.19/mmbtu (-9.5% y/y) in the week of February 11 after strengthening to $5.78 in the previous week. It was the lowest price since early-January. Yesterday, the price fell to $4.44/mmbtu.
In the four weeks ended February 4, gasoline demand rose 7.9% y/y, down from 17.1% y/y late in December. Growth in demand for all petroleum products has been steady around 12.3% y/y since early December. Growth in crude oil input to refineries fell to 4.9% y/y, after 13.1% y/y growth early in November. Gasoline inventories declined 3.1% y/y and crude oil inventories declined a steady 9.8% y/y.
The supply of gasoline inventories in the week ending February 4 fell slightly 29.2 days from 30.4 days which was the highest level since February 2021. The supply of crude oil edged was little changed w/w at 26.6 days but that was 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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