Global| Jul 30 2019U.S. Energy Product Prices Slide Further
by:Sandy Batten
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. fell again in the week ended July 29 to $2.72 (-4.6% y/y) from $2.75 the previous week. This is the lowest price in five weeks. Haver Analytics calculates a series which is [...]
The pump price for a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. fell again in the week ended July 29 to $2.72 (-4.6% y/y) from $2.75 the previous week. This is the lowest price in five weeks. Haver Analytics calculates a series which is adjusted for the seasonal variation in gasoline pump prices. Over the same period, the seasonally adjusted price eased to $2.64 per gallon from $2.67.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices eased to $56.11 per barrel (-19.9% y/y) in the week ended July 26 from $56.88 in the previous week. It was the lowest price in five weeks. Yesterday, prices edged up to $56.87 from $56.20 on Friday. Brent crude oil prices declined to an average of $63.46 per barrel (-14.0% y/y) last week from $63.86 per barrel in the previous week. Yesterday, the price rose to $63.68 from $63.51 on Friday.
The price of natural gas slumped to $2.28 per mmbtu (-16.9% y/y) in the week ended July 26 from $2.44/mmbtu averaged in the previous week. This is the lowest weekly average price since the week ended on November 11, 2016. Yesterday, the price of natural gas was unchanged from Friday at $2.23/mmbtu.
For the four-weeks ending July 19, U.S. gasoline demand fell 1.5% y/y, while total petroleum product demand edged down 0.3% y/y. U.S. gasoline inventories slipped 0.4% y/y, but inventories of all petroleum products were up 5.2% y/y. Crude oil input to U.S. refineries was 1.1% below a year earlier.
These data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy. The price data can be found in Haver’s WEEKLY and DAILY databases. More detail on prices, as well as the demand, production and inventory data, including regional breakdowns, are in OILWKLY.
| Weekly Energy Prices | 7/29/2019 | 7/22/2019 | 7/15/2019 | Y/Y % | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Gasoline ($ per Gallon Regular, Monday Price, End of Period) | 2.75 | 2.78 | 2.74 | -2.9 | 2.27 | 2.47 | 2.31 |
| Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl, Previous Week's Average) | 56.93 | 59.11 | 57.44 | -17.4 | 64.95 | 50.87 | 43.22 |
| Natural Gas ($/mmbtu, LA, Previous Week's Average) | 2.41 | 2.47 | 2.31 | -13.3 | 3.15 | 2.96 | 2.49 |
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.
