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Economy in Brief
U.S. Mortgage Applications Continue to Weaken
The MBA Loan Applications Index fell 1.2% (-54.5% y/y) in the week ended May 20...
German Climate Reading Continues to Skid Toward the Abyss
Germany's GfK consumer climate reading improved ever so slightly in June...
U.S. New Home Sales Plunge in April as Prices Jump
The new home sales market is unraveling...
U.S. Energy Prices Rise Further
Retail gasoline prices increased to $4.59 per gallon in the week ended May 23...
S&P Flash PMIs Are Mixed in May As Manufacturing Erodes Slowly
Among the early reporting countries in Europe and Japan, the S&P PMI readings for May tilt toward weakness...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
State Coincident Indexes in April 2022
State Labor Markets in April 2022
Profits & Margins Plunge In Q1: Expect More Margin Contraction As Fed Squeezes Inflation
The Many Links of Inflation Cycle: Hard Landing Is Needed to Crack Them
Peak Inflation and Fed Policy: A Relationship which Should Worry the Fed and Scare Investors
by Tom Moeller March 31, 2015
Gasoline prices dipped a penny last week to $2.45 cents per gallon and remained down by roughly one-third versus a year ago. Prices remained well below the $3.70 per gallon peak last June. Haver Analytics constructs factors adjusting for the seasonal variation in pump prices. The seasonally adjusted price fell last week to $2.40 per gallon.
A supply-demand imbalance are putting fuel prices under downward pressure. Gasoline inventories grew 7.5% y/y while inventories of crude oil & petroleum products overall increased 9.2% y/y. Gasoline demand edged 0.4% higher y/y while the demand for all petroleum products improved 2.9% y/y.
For the week ended March 27, WTI crude oil prices rebounded to an average $48.79 per barrel (-51.5% y/y). Yesterday, prices held steady at $48.68 per barrel. These prices compare to a June peak of $107.95. The seasonally adjusted price, generated by Haver Analytics, improved to $48.23 per barrel last week. Brent crude oil prices gained last week to $55.01 per barrel (-48.4% y/y) but fell back to $53.99 yesterday.
Natural gas prices edged down to $2.71 (-38.5% y/y) per mmbtu during the week ended March 27. Prices were lower at $2.61 yesterday.
The energy price data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The petroleum demand and inventory figures are from the Oil & Gas Journal Weekly. These data can be found in Haver's WEEKLY database. The daily figures are in DAILY and greater detail on prices, demand and production, along with regional breakdowns, are in OILWKLY.
Weekly Energy Prices | 03/30/15 | 03/23/15 | 03/16/15 | Y/Y% | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Retail Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular) | 2.45 | 2.46 | 2.45 | -31.6 | 3.36 | 3.51 | 3.62 |
Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl., WSJ) | 48.79 | 44.39 | 47.69 | -51.5 | 93.63 | 97.95 | 94.20 |
Natural Gas ($/mmbtu, LA, WSJ) | 2.71 | 2.78 | 2.75 | -38.5 | 4.37 | 3.73 | 2.7 |