Courtesy of Doug Short.
It’s time again for my weekly gasoline update based on data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Rounded to the penny, Regular and Premium both dropped eight cents. Regular is at its lowest price since early May 2009.
According to GasBuddy.com, Hawaii has the highest average price at $3.41. The highest continental average price is in New York at $2.60. Missouri has the cheapest Regular at $1.76.
How far are we from the interim high prices of 2011 and the all-time highs of 2008? Here’s a visual answer.
The next chart is a weekly chart overlay of West Texas Light Crude, Brent Crude and unleaded gasoline end-of-day spot prices (GASO). WTIC closed today at 46.07, a 7.8% plunge from a week ago and is at its lowest close since early March of 2009.
Check out the plunge in Texas Crude on a weekly chart that needs no annotation.
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).
Here are some additional commentaries related to gasoline prices:
