Courtesy of Doug Short.
Here is my weekly gasoline chart update from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) data with an overlay of West Texas Crude (WTIC). Gasoline prices at the pump, rounded to the penny, declined dramatically over the past week: regular fell ten cents and premium nine. This is the eleventh week of declines and the largest by almost double. Previously the largest drop in regular was the six-cent decline three weeks ago. Regular is now up only 21 cents and premium 19 cents from their interim weekly lows in the December 19th EIA report.
As I write this, GasBuddy.com still shows the two non-continental states with the average price of gasoline above $4. California has the highest mainland prices, averaging around $3.81 a gallon with Washington as the second highest at $3.74.
How far are we from the interim high prices of 2011 and the all-time highs of 2008? Here’s the answer.
The next chart is an overlay of WTIC, Brent Crude and unleaded gasoline end-of-day spot prices (GASO). GASO hit its intraday high at 3.43 on April 3rd. It closed today at 2.49, down 17 cents from last week (a 6.4% decline).
The volatility in crude oil and gasoline prices has been clearly reflected in recent years in both the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE). For additional perspective on how energy prices are factored into the CPI, see What Inflation Means to You: Inside the Consumer Price Index.
The chart below offers a comparison of the broader aggregate category of energy inflation since 2000, based on categories within Consumer Price Index (commentary here).
