U.S. Energy Prices Mixed, Move Modestly in Latest Week
Summary
- Gasoline prices basically steady
- Crude oil and natural gas rise slightly
- Petroleum demand rises for especially crude oil and gasoline
Retail gasoline prices moved very little this past week, edging up to $3.536 per gallon (-21.3% y/y) on Monday for regular grade from $3.533 the prior Monday. This compares to a recent low of $3.091 on December 26 and a high of $5.006 on June 13, 2022, which is the all-time high for this series dating back to August 1990. The retail price of diesel fuel on Monday was $3.897 per gallon (-30.6% y/y), down from $3.922 the week before and well down from its peak of $5.810 on June 20, 2022.
Crude oil prices increased somewhat in the last week, rising to an average of $72.06 per barrel (-31.4% y/y) for West Texas Intermediate in the week ended May 12 from $71.17 the week before. These are both down from a recent high of $81.87 in the April 14 week and $120.46 per barrel the week of June 10, 2022. Brent crude oil rose to $76.37 per barrel in the week ended May 12 (-28.9% y/y) from $74.62 the prior week and down from $87.36 in the April 14 week and $127.40 the week of June 10, 2022.
The price of natural gas rose to $2.10/mmbtu in the week ended May 12 from $2.04 the week before. The latest 6-cent increase still left the natural gas price below the range earlier this year -- $2.59 in the March 3 week and down markedly from mid- to late-2022, when they ranged from $6.06 the week of December 2 to $9.56 in late August.
In the four weeks ended May 5, gasoline demand rose 2.2% from a year ago after increasing 1.1% the prior week. Demand for all petroleum products rose 2.5% in the latest four weeks, up from 1.7% the week before. Crude oil input to refineries was up 0.9% from a year ago, a second modest increase after declines back to late December.
Gasoline inventories were down 2.3% in the May 5 week from a year ago fractionally less than the 2.5% decline the week before. Crude oil inventories fell 14.7% from a year ago. Stocks of distillate fuel oil rose 2.0% and residual fuel oil stocks were up 17.3%.
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.
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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