Release date: December 31, 2014 | Next release date: January 7, 2014
Happy Holidays
From the many contributing authors, support staff, and others in EIA who make This Week In Petroleum possible, best wishes for a safe and happy new year.
Accompanying charts and tables have been updated to reflect data from the latest Weekly Petroleum Status Report for the week ending December 26, 2014.
U.S. gasoline prices end 2014 down more than $1 per gallon from year ago, diesel prices also fall
The U.S. average price for regular gasoline as of December 29, 2014, was $2.30 per gallon, down 10 cents from the week prior and $1.03 per gallon lower than the same time last year. The Rocky Mountain price declined 16 cents to $2.23 per gallon, followed by the Midwest price, which fell 14 cents to $2.09 per gallon. The Gulf Coast price decreased 10 cents to $2.07 per gallon, while the East Coast price was down nine cents to $2.44 per gallon. The West Coast price decreased eight cents to $2.62 per gallon.
The U.S. average price for diesel fuel fell seven cents from the week prior to $3.21 per gallon, 69 cents less than the same time last year. The Rocky Mountain price decreased 10 cents to $3.24 per gallon, while the Midwest price declined nine cents to $3.21 per gallon. The West Coast price fell six cents to $3.27 per gallon. The East Coast and Gulf Coast prices each fell five cents, to $3.26 per gallon and $3.12 per gallon, respectively.
Propane inventories fall
U.S. propane stocks decreased by 0.6 million barrels last week to 77.2 million barrels as of December 26, 2014, 31.3 million barrels (68.3%) higher than a year ago. Gulf Cost inventories decreased by 1.1 million barrels and Rocky Mountain/West Coast inventories decreased by 0.1 million barrels. Midwest inventories increased by 0.5 million barrels while East Coast inventories remained unchanged. Propylene non-fuel-use inventories represented 4.6% of total propane inventories.
Residential fuel prices decrease
As of December 29, 2014, residential heating oil prices averaged $3.04 per gallon, less than 4 cents per gallon lower than last week, and 99 cents less than last year's price for the same week. Wholesale heating oil prices averaged $2.00 per gallon, more than 7 cents per gallon lower than last week and nearly $1.23 per gallon lower when compared to the same time last year.
Residential propane prices averaged almost $2.37 per gallon, 1 cent per gallon lower than last week, and over 43 cents per gallon less than the price at the same time last year. The average wholesale propane price decreased by almost 5 cents per gallon this week to 63 cents per gallon, $1.07 per gallon lower than the December 30, 2013 price.
For questions about This Week in Petroleum, contact the Petroleum Markets Team at 202-586-0786.
Retail prices (dollars per gallon)
| Retail prices | Change from last | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 12/29/14 | Week | Year | |
| Gasoline | 2.299 | -0.104 | -1.032 |
| Diesel | 3.213 | -0.068 | -0.690 |
| Heating Oil | 3.043 | -0.036 | -0.994 |
| Propane | 2.367 | -0.013 | -0.435 |
Futures prices (dollars per gallon*)
| Futures prices | Change from last | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 12/26/14 | Week | Year | |
| Crude oil | 54.73 | -1.79 | -45.59 |
| Gasoline | 1.509 | -0.051 | -1.307 |
| Heating oil | 1.908 | -0.054 | -1.216 |
| *Note: Crude oil price in dollars per barrel. | |||
Stocks (million barrels)
| Stocks | Change from last | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 12/26/14 | Week | Year | |
| Crude oil | 385.5 | -1.8 | 24.9 |
| Gasoline | 229.0 | 3.0 | 8.3 |
| Distillate | 125.7 | 1.9 | 6.6 |
| Propane | 77.244 | -0.596 | 31.343 |