Release date: December 28, 2018 | Next release date: January 4, 2019
Happy Holidays
On behalf of the authors, support staff, and the many others at 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 21, 2018.
U.S. average regular gasoline and diesel prices decrease
The U.S. average regular gasoline retail price decreased nearly 5 cents from last week to $2.32 per gallon on December 24, 2018, down more than 15 cents per gallon from the same time last year. Rocky Mountain prices fell 9 cents to $2.49 per gallon, East Coast prices decreased nearly 6 cents to $2.30 per gallon, Midwest prices fell more than 5 cents to $2.08 per gallon, Gulf Coast prices decreased 5 cents to $1.98 per gallon, and West Coast prices fell 3 cents to $3.08 per gallon.
The U.S. average diesel fuel price decreased more than 4 cents from last week to $3.08 per gallon on December 24, 2018, 17 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. Midwest prices fell more than 7 cents to $2.94 per gallon, Rocky Mountain prices fell nearly 7 cents to $3.11 per gallon, East Coast and Gulf Coast prices each decreased more than 3 cents to $3.13 per gallon and $2.87 per gallon, respectively, and West Coast prices fell nearly 2 cents to $3.59 per gallon.
Propane/propylene inventories decline
U.S. propane/propylene stocks decreased by 1.0 million barrels last week to 72.2 million barrels as of December 21, 2018, 4.6 million barrels (6.0%) lower than the five-year (2013-2017) average inventory level for this same time of year. Midwest, Gulf Coast, and Rocky Mountain/West Coast inventories decreased by 0.6 million barrels, 0.3 million barrels, and 0.1 million barrels, respectively. East Coast inventories increased slightly, remaining virtually unchanged. Propylene non-fuel-use inventories represented 6.7% of total propane/propylene inventories.
Residential heating oil and propane prices decrease
As of December 24, 2018, residential heating oil prices averaged $3.13 per gallon, down over 5 cents per gallon from last week’s price but 21 cents per gallon higher than last year’s price at this time. The average wholesale heating oil price for this week averaged almost $1.85 per gallon, 11 cents per gallon less than last week and 22 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.
Residential propane prices averaged almost $2.44 per gallon, less than 1 cent per gallon lower than last week and 6 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. Wholesale propane prices averaged nearly $0.80 per gallon, 6 cents per gallon less than last week and almost 30 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.
For questions about This Week in Petroleum, contact the Petroleum Markets Team at 202-586-4522.
Retail prices (dollars per gallon)
| Retail prices | Change from last | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 12/24/18 | Week | Year | |
| Gasoline | 2.321 | -0.048 | -0.151 |
| Diesel | 3.077 | -0.044 | 0.174 |
| Heating Oil | 3.134 | -0.053 | 0.214 |
| Propane | 2.436 | -0.003 | -0.060 |
Futures prices (dollars per gallon*)
| Futures prices | Change from last | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 12/21/18 | Week | Year | |
| Crude oil | 45.59 | -5.61 | -12.88 |
| Gasoline | 1.318 | -0.116 | -0.444 |
| Heating oil | 1.733 | -0.112 | -0.236 |
| *Note: Crude oil price in dollars per barrel. | |||
Stocks (million barrels)
| Stocks | Change from last | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 12/21/18 | Week | Year | |
| Crude oil | 441.4 | 0.0 | 9.5 |
| Gasoline | 233.1 | 3.0 | 4.7 |
| Distillate | 119.9 | 0.0 | -10.0 |
| Propane | 72.219 | -1.027 | 3.585 |