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, both regular and premium, increased 4 cents over the past week, continuing their steady increase since mid-December. Regular is up 60 cents and premium 57 cents from the interim weekly low in the December 19th EIA report. Interestingly some of the key underlying commodities appear to be consolidating over the past two weeks, as the second chart illustrates.
As I write this, GasBuddy.com shows four states, Hawaii, Alaska, California and Illinois plus DC with the average price of gasoline above $4 and another 6 states with the price above $3.90.
The next chart is an overlay of WTIC, Brent Crude and unleaded gasoline (GASO). During much of last year there was a growing spread between WTIC and Brent Crude, but over the last quarter that spread has shrunk considerably. These commodities appear to be consolidating at a resistance level since February 24th.
The price volatility in crude oil and gasoline have 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).
