U.S. Crude Oil and Gasoline Prices Rise
Summary
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Gasoline prices up, but still down from early December.
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Crude oil prices reverse some of recent decline.
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Natural gas prices decline slightly in latest week after sharp drop the week before.
Retail gasoline prices increased yet again in the week ended January 16, rising to $3.31 per gallon (+0.1% y/y) from $3.26 the week before. This was the third consecutive increase, but the price was still lower than in early December ($3.39) and well below the mid-June peak of $5.01 per gallon. The retail cost of diesel fuel edged down to $4.52 per gallon from $4.55 per gallon (+21.4% y/y) last week. That price had reached a peak of $5.81 per gallon in the third week of June.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices rose to an average $77.09 per barrel (-5.5% y/y) in the week ended January 13 from an average of $74.29 the week before, reversing some of that week’s decrease. The latest week remained well below a high of $120.46 in the second week of June. Nonetheless, yesterday, the price was $80.25 per barrel. The average price of Brent crude oil increased to an average of $80.45 per barrel last week (-5.4% y/y) from $77.20 in the prior week. The price peaked at $127.40 in mid-June. Yesterday, the price was $84.38 per barrel.
The price of natural gas declined to $3.46/mmbtu (-21.7% y/y) in the week ended January 13 after falling to $3.65/mmbtu in the previous week. The latest weeks were down from $6.78/mmbtu in the third week of December. Prices peaked at $9.56/mmbtu in the last week of August, up from a low of $3.56/mmbtu in the last week of December 2021. Yesterday, the price was $3.43/mmbtu.
In the four weeks ended January 6, gasoline demand was down 4.8% y/y after falling 7.0% y/y during the prior four weeks. These declines compare to 15.2% y/y growth at the end of 2021. Demand for all petroleum products was down 4.3% y/y in the latest four weeks, the same as in the prior four week and in contrast to the 14.4% growth at the end of 2021. Crude oil input to refineries fell 3.8% y/y in the latest four weeks.
Gasoline inventories fell 5.8% y/y in the week ended January 6, while crude oil inventories declined 19.4% y/y.
Measured in days’ supply, gasoline inventories in the week ended January 6 rose w/w to 27.4 days but remained below the 30.4 days in late January of last year. The supply of crude oil rose to 29.0 days, the largest since 29.6 days in mid-June 2021.
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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