Global| May 29 2013U.S. Petroleum Prices Meander Sideways
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Following earlier improvement, gasoline prices lost upward momentum last week. The price of regular gasoline slipped two cents to $3.65 per gallon and remained down just slightly versus last year. Prices remain below the $3.78 per [...]
Following earlier improvement, gasoline prices lost upward momentum last week. The price of regular gasoline slipped two cents to $3.65 per gallon and remained down just slightly versus last year. Prices remain below the $3.78 per gallon peak reached late in February. Haver Analytics constructs seasonal factors to account for seasonal volatility and the adjusted price ticked one penny higher w/w to $3.44 per gallon.
Also, recently moving sideways was the price for light sweet crude oil. It ticked up last week to $95.09 per barrel (4.4% y/y), close to where it's been for most of this year. Nevertheless, the price remained up from the June 2012 low of $80.29. Yesterday prices held at $95.01. Brent crude oil prices were roughly constant last week at $102.49 per barrel (-5.1% y/y) and were $103.89 yesterday.
Natural gas prices jumped last week to $4.14 per mmbtu (59.0% y/y). They rose slightly yesterday at $4.17.
The demand for gasoline fell 3.3% y/y last week. Residual fuel oil needs, used for heating, fell 7.9% y/y but distillate demand improved 2.5% y/y. Gasoline inventories jumped 9.8% y/y.
The energy price data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy and can be found in Haver's WEEKLY database. The daily figures are in DAILY and the gasoline demand figures are in OILWKLY.
| Weekly Energy Prices | 05/27/13 | 05/20/13 | 05/13/13 | Y/Y% | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Regular Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular) | 3.65 | 3.67 | 3.60 | -0.7 | 3.62 | 3.52 | 2.78 |
| Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl.) | 95.09 | 94.97 | 96.17 | 4.4 | 94.20 | 95.14 | 79.51 |
| Natural Gas ($/mmbtu) | 4.14 | 3.95 | 3.89 | 59.0 | 2.75 | 3.99 | 4.00 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
More Economy in Brief
