U.S. Gasoline Prices Surge to Record
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Gasoline prices jump over $4.00 per gallon.
- Crude oil prices strengthen to the highest level since 2013.
- Natural gas prices slip.
Retail gasoline prices increased to a record $4.10 per gallon (48.0% y/y) in the week ended March 7 from $3.61 in the previous week. Haver Analytics adjusts the gasoline price series for normal seasonal variation. The seasonally adjusted price surged to $4.07 per gallon from $3.59 in the prior week.
Crude oil prices have strengthened with conflict in Ukraine. The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil surged to $106.75 per barrel (71.4% y/y) in the week of March 4 from $92.18 in the prior week. Yesterday, the price strengthened to $119.40 per barrel. The average price of Brent crude oil increased to $114.43 per barrel (73.5% y/y) from $99.36 in the prior week. The price increased to $129.02 per barrel yesterday.
The price of natural gas eased to $4.57/mmbtu (+63.8% y/y) in the week of March 4 after rising to $4.62 in the previous week. Prices have risen from a low of $1.52/mmbtu in the third week of June 2020. Yesterday, the price jumped to $4.93/mmbtu.
In the four weeks ended February 25, gasoline demand rose 11.0% y/y, down from 17.1% y/y late in December. Growth in demand for all petroleum products increased 11.0% y/y. Growth in crude oil input to refineries rose a strengthened 18.1% y/y, after 13.1% y/y growth early in November. Gasoline inventories rose 1.0% y/y but crude oil inventories declined 11.5% y/y.
The supply of gasoline inventories in the week ending February 25 fell to 28.0 days. The supply of crude oil also was steady at 27.1 days but that 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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