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Economy in Brief
U.S. Housing Affordability Declines Further in June
The NAR Fixed Rate Mortgage Housing Affordability Index fell 3.6% in June...
EMU Output Makes Solid Gain in June
The European Monetary Union posted a 0.7% increase for industrial output in June...
U.S. Producer Prices Fall During July; Core Increase Weakens
The Producer Price Index for Final Demand fell 0.5% during July...
U.S. Unemployment Claims Continue on an Uptrend
Initial claims for unemployment insurance filed in the week ended August 6 rose 14,000 to 262,000...
RICS Survey Points to More U.K. Housing Sector Weakness
The survey of housing market conditions in the U.K. continues to show strength in prices versus weakness...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller May 1, 2018
Retail gasoline prices increased to $2.85 per gallon last week (18.0% y/y) following the prior week's five cent increase to $2.80 per gallon. It was the highest price level since November 2014. Haver Analytics constructs factors adjusting for the seasonal variation in gasoline pump prices. The seasonally-adjusted price rose two cents to $2.74 per gallon, the highest level since late-February.
WTI crude oil prices rose to $67.92 per barrel last week, up 38.0% y/y, from $67.55 per barrel. It was the highest price since November 2014. Prices increased further yesterday to $68.56 per barrel. Brent crude oil prices rose to $74.98 per barrel last week and were $75.92 yesterday.
Natural gas prices eased to $2.77/mmbtu (-8.8% y/y), the highest level since early-February. The price eased to $2.68/mmbtu yesterday.
In the week ended April 20, gasoline demand increased 1.3% y/y, while total petroleum product demand improved 4.3% y/y. Gasoline inventories declined 1.8% y/y, while inventories of all petroleum products fell 8.9% y/y. Crude oil input to refineries improved 0.3% y/y in the last four weeks.
The energy price data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The petroleum demand and inventory figures are from the Oil & Gas Journal Weekly. These data can be found in Haver's WEEKLY database. The daily figures are in DAILY and greater detail on prices, demand and production, along with regional breakdowns, are in OILWKLY.
Weekly Energy Prices | 04/30/18 | 04/23/18 | 04/16/18 | Y/Y % | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Retail Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular) | 2.85 | 2.80 | 2.75 | 18.0 | 2.47 | 2.31 | 2.03 |
Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl.) | 67.92 | 67.55 | 66.03 | 38.0 | 50.87 | 43.22 | 48.90 |
Natural Gas ($/mmbtu, LA, WSJ) | 2.77 | 2.80 | 2.71 | -8.8 | 2.96 | 2.49 | 2.62 |