U.S. Energy Prices Are Mixed in Latest Week
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Gasoline prices ease but diesel fuel prices rise.
- Crude oil prices decline as natural gas costs prices improve.
- Petroleum demand increases.
Retail gasoline prices slipped to $3.69 per gallon (-27.2% y/y) last week from $3.71 per gallon during the prior week. This average price for all grades of gasoline remained above the $3.20 low in the last week of December, but they were below the high of $5.11 per gallon in the second week of June 2022. The retail price of diesel fuel rose to $3.82 per gallon (-34.3% y/y) from $3.79 in the prior week but stood well below the peak of $5.81 averaged in the third week of June 2022. It was the lowest price since the fourth week of January 2022.
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil price declined to $69.43 per barrel (-40.4% y/y) in the week ended June 16 from $71.57 per barrel in the prior week. Prices remain below a recent high of $81.87 in the second week of April and well below $120.46 per barrel in the second week June 2022. Yesterday, the price was $70.50 per barrel. Brent crude oil prices fell to $74.25 per barrel (-40.6% y/y) from $76.06 in the prior week, significantly below the $127.40 peak in mid-June 2022.
The price of natural gas edged higher to $2.03/mmbtu (-74.4% y/y) in the week ended June 16 from $1.99 in the previous week. The price remained nearly the lowest since the second week of October 2020. Prices have fallen from their recent high of $6.78/mmbtu in the third week of December and from $9.56/mmbtu in the last week of August of 2022. Yesterday, the price was $1.90/mmbtu.
In the four weeks ended June 9, gasoline demand rose 2.4% from a year earlier after increasing 1.8% in the prior week. Demand for all petroleum products improved 0.8% y/y in the latest four weeks after easing 0.2% y/y in the week prior. Crude oil input to refineries improved 0.7% from a year earlier.
Gasoline inventories rose 1.6% y/y in the week of June 9. Inventories of distillate fuel oil rose 3.8% y/y and residual fuel oil inventories increased 11.7% y/y. Crude oil inventories fell 12.0% from a year ago.
Measured in days’ supply, gasoline inventories in the week ended June 9 were unchanged at 23.9 days. They remained near the lowest level since the second week of November. The supply of crude oil rose to 28.5 days from 28.3 days but remained down from a high of 31.9 days early in March.
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 database.
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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