Global| Jun 26 2012U.S. Petroleum Prices Slide Yet Again
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Weak demand for petroleum products continued to depress prices last week.The pump price of regular gasoline declined nine cents to $3.44 per gallon. Since early April prices have fallen fifty cents (-12.8%). Haver Analytics' [...]
Weak demand for petroleum products continued to depress prices last week.The pump price of regular gasoline declined nine cents to $3.44 per gallon. Since early April prices have fallen fifty cents (-12.8%). Haver Analytics' seasonally-adjusted price for regular also declined nine cents to $3.14 per gallon. This price is lower than the actual cost since prices typically rise with the summer driving season. Yesterday, the wholesale price for a gallon of unleaded was $2.46 versus $3.55 averaged last week.
Reduced driving and improved fuel economy lowered the demand for gasoline by 5.0% y/y last week. The demand for residual fuel oil, used for heating, was off 41.3% and distillate demand fell 1.7% y/y. Inventories of crude oil and petroleum products ticked up 0.2% year-to-year. That comparison was improved versus the 5.0% decline this past fall.
The price for a barrel of light sweet crude oil was off $1.12 last week to $83.32 as global demand weakened. Yesterday, the cost of crude rose to $84.00 per barrel. Prices peaked at $113.93 in April, 2011. Brent crude declined last week to $99.25 per barrel and fell further to $98.30 yesterday.
Natural gas prices rose to $2.54 per mmbtu but were down 41.3% y/y. Yesterday, prices slipped to $2.46 and still were off from the early-January 2010 peak of $6.50.
The energy price data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy and can be found in Haver's WEEKLY database. The daily figures are in DAILY and the gasoline demand figures are in OILWKLY.
| Weekly Price | 06/25/12 | 06/18/12 | 06/11/12 | Y/Y% | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Regular Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular) | 3.44 | 3.53 | 3.57 | -3.8 | 3.52 | 2.78 | 2.35 |
| Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl.) | 81.41 | 83.32 | 84.44 | -12.3 | 95.14 | 79.51 | 61.39 |
| Natural Gas ($/mmbtu) | 2.54 | 2.24 | 2.33 | -41.3 | 3.99 | 4.40 | 3.95 |
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.
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