Major Energy Prices All Declined in Latest Week
Summary
- Crude oil, gasoline and natural gas prices all fell in February 24 week.
- Demand for petroleum and its products also declined.
- Mild winter weather contributed to lower natural gas prices.
Retail gasoline prices eased again in the week ended February 27 to $3.34 per gallon (-7.4% y/y) from $3.38 per gallon in the previous week. Prices remained below the mid-June 2022 peak of $5.01 per gallon but above their late December 2022 low of $3.09. The retail price of diesel fuel fell to $4.29 $4.38 per gallon (+4.6% y/y) last week from $4.38 per gallon in the previous week. The price reached a peak of $5.81 per gallon in the third week of June 2022 but the latest cost was the lowest since February of last year.
The average price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil turned down to $75.49 per barrel (-18.1% y/y) in the week ended February 24 from $78.52 per barrel the week before. Prices have been near that level since late November. The recent high was $120.46 in the second week of June 2022. Yesterday, the price was $75.68 per barrel. The average price of Brent crude oil also fell last week, down to $81.77 per barrel from $84.17 per barrel in the previous week. The price peaked at $127.40 in mid-June of 2022. Yesterday, the price was $82.31 per barrel.
The price of natural gas decreased 23 cents per mmbtu to $2.18/mmbtu (-52.8% y/y) in the week ended February 24 after a modest increase of 7 cents in the prior week to $2.41. Warm winter temperatures had caused prices to fall in the prior eight weeks from $6.78 in the third week of December. The current price is near the lowest level since October 2020. The most recent peak was $9.56/mmbtu in the last week of August. Yesterday, the price was $2.55/mmbtu.
In the four weeks ended February 17, gasoline demand declined 1.4% from a year earlier and has been weakening since mid-2021. Demand for all petroleum products fell 8.4% y/y in the latest four weeks and also has been falling since 2021. Crude oil input to refineries fell 0.9% y/y, after it trended sideways through much of 2022.
Gasoline inventories declined 2.6% y/y in the week ended February 17 but have risen sharply since early November. Crude oil inventories slumped 14.8% y/y but have jumped since late December.
Measured in days’ supply, gasoline inventories in the week ended February 17 eased to 28.2 from the prior week’s 29.0 days. The recent ow had been 23.3 days in early November. The supply of crude oil rose to 31.7 days and has been rising since a low of 25.2 days in the first week of December.
These data are reported by the Energy Information Administration of 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 are in USENERGY.
Carol Stone, CBE
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Carol Stone, CBE came to Haver Analytics in 2003 following more than 35 years as a financial market economist at major Wall Street financial institutions, most especially Merrill Lynch and Nomura Securities. She has broad experience in analysis and forecasting of flow-of-funds accounts, the federal budget and Federal Reserve operations. At Nomura Securites, among other duties, she developed various indicator forecasting tools and edited a daily global publication produced in London and New York for readers in Tokyo. At Haver Analytics, Carol is a member of the Research Department, aiding database managers with research and documentation efforts, as well as posting commentary on select economic reports. In addition, she conducts Ways-of-the-World, a blog on economic issues for an Episcopal-Church-affiliated website, The Geranium Farm. During her career, Carol served as an officer of the Money Marketeers and the Downtown Economists Club. She has a PhD from NYU's Stern School of Business. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, and has a weekend home on Long Island.
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