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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 January 29, 2019
Retail gasoline prices of $2.26 per gallon last week (-13.5% y/y) were improved by one penny versus the prior week and have risen slightly for three straight weeks. Haver Analytics constructs factors adjusting for the seasonal variation in gasoline pump prices. The seasonally-adjusted price was $2.46 per gallon, up slightly from the 14-month low of $2.39 in early January.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices rose to an average of $52.77 (-18.9% y/y) per barrel last week from $52.02 during the prior week. Prices have steadily increased from the 18-month low of $44.55 reached at the end of last year. Yesterday, prices ticked down to $51.99 per barrel. Brent crude oil prices rose to an average of $61.60 per barrel last week and were $59.91 yesterday.
Natural gas prices eased to $3.24/mmbtu last week (-5.5% y/y) following the prior week's strengthening to $3.50/mmbtu with colder temperatures. Prices declined to $3.05 yesterday.
In the four-weeks ending January 18, gasoline demand was little changed y/y, while total petroleum product demand fell 1.1% y/y. Gasoline inventories rose 6.4% y/y, while inventories of all petroleum products rose 2.6% y/y. Crude oil input to refineries increased 1.9% y/y in the last four weeks.
These data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The price data can be found in Haver's WEEKLY and DAILY databases. Greater detail on prices, as well as the demand, production and inventory data, along with regional breakdowns, are in OILWKLY.
Weekly Energy Prices | 01/28/19 | 01/21/19 | 01/14/19 | Y/Y % | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Retail Gasoline ($ per Gallon Regular, Monday Price, End of Period) | 2.26 | 2.25 | 2.25 | -13.5 | 2.27 | 2.47 | 2.31 |
Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl, Previous Week's Average) | 52.77 | 52.02 | 50.85 | -18.9 | 64.95 | 50.87 | 43.22 |
Natural Gas ($/mmbtu, LA, Previous Week's Average) | 3.24 | 3.50 | 2.89 | -5.5 | 3.18 | 2.99 | 2.51 |