Global| Nov 24 2020U.S. Energy Prices Mixed
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
• Crude oil price increased. • Natural gas price tumbled. • Gasoline price little changed. The price for a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil increased to an average of $41.62 (-27.0% y/y) in the week ended November 20 from [...]
• Crude oil price increased.
• Natural gas price tumbled.
• Gasoline price little changed.
The price for a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil increased to an average of $41.62 (-27.0% y/y) in the week ended November 20 from $40.75 per barrel in the previous week. The price was $43.06 yesterday. The average price of Brent crude oil rose to $44.30 per barrel (-29.2% y/y) in the same week from $43.20 per barrel in the previous week. It increased to $45.92 yesterday.
The price of natural gas price tumbled to $2.39/mmbtu (-7.4% y/y) in the week ended November 20 from $2.75/mmbtu in the previous week. After prices soared in October, they have now declined for three consecutive weeks, falling 23% over this period. The price was $2.23 yesterday.
The price of regular gasoline was little changed in the week of November 23, edging down to $2.10 per gallon (-18.5% y/y) and reversing the prior week's one-cent increase to $2.11. Haver Analytics adjusts the gasoline price series for normal seasonal variation. The seasonally adjusted price rose two cents to $2.17 per gallon last week, its highest level since late August.
In the four weeks ended November 13, gasoline demand declined 9.5% y/y. Total petroleum product demand fell 9.1% y/y. Crude oil input to refineries was down 15.4% y/y over the past four weeks. Gasoline inventories increased 3.2% y/y and inventories of all petroleum products were up 4.8% y/y. The days supply of gasoline in inventory has been steady around 27 since mid-August. That's down from the 48.7 recession peak on April 24, but slightly above the long-term average.
These data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The price data can be found in Haver's WEEKLY and DAILY databases. Greater detail on prices, as well as the demand, production and inventory data, along with regional breakdowns, are in OILWKLY.
| Weekly Energy Prices | 11/23/20 | 11/16/20 | 11/09/20 | Y/Y % | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular, Monday) | 2.10 | 2.11 | 2.10 | -18.5 | 2.57 | 2.27 | 2.47 |
| Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl, Previous Week's Average) | 41.62 | 40.75 | 37.79 | -27.0 | 56.91 | 64.95 | 50.87 |
| Natural Gas ($/mmbtu, LA, Previous Week's Average) | 2.39 | 2.75 | 2.78 | -7.4 | 2.57 | 3.18 | 2.99 |
Sandy Batten
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Sandy Batten has more than 30 years of experience analyzing industrial economies and financial markets and a wide range of experience across the financial services sector, government, and academia. Before joining Haver Analytics, Sandy was a Vice President and Senior Economist at Citibank; Senior Credit Market Analyst at CDC Investment Management, Managing Director at Bear Stearns, and Executive Director at JPMorgan. In 2008, Sandy was named the most accurate US forecaster by the National Association for Business Economics. He is a member of the New York Forecasters Club, NABE, and the American Economic Association. Prior to his time in the financial services sector, Sandy was a Research Officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Senior Staff Economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the US Treasury, and Economist at the International Monetary Fund. Sandy has taught economics at St. Louis University, Denison University, and Muskingun College. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in a wide range of academic publications. He has a B.A. in economics from the University of Richmond and a M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from The Ohio State University.
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