This Week in Petroleum

Source:  Energy Information Administration
Released on August 20, 2008
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Diesel Prices Plunge Again
The U.S. average retail price for regular gasoline fell for the sixth week in a row, dropping another 6.9 cents. At 374 cents per gallon, the U.S. average price has plunged a total of 37.4 cents from the July 7 all-time high of 411.4 cents per gallon. Once again, the price on the East Coast dropped more than any other region, falling 9.8 cents to 370.1 cents per gallon. The smallest drop of any region occurred in the Midwest, where the price slid just 2.3 cents to 370.8 cents per gallon. The price in the Gulf Coast remained the lowest of any region, dropping another 8.6 cents to 359.9 cents per gallon. The Gulf Coast has had the lowest price of any region every week but one since May 26 and was down by more than 37 cents from its all-time high of 397.1 set on July 14. The price in the Rocky Mountain region dropped 6.5 cents to 388.8 cents per gallon. The West Coast price fell for the eighth consecutive week, dropping another 7.7 cents to land at 398 cents per gallon. The price moved below $4 for the first time since May 19, representing a cumulative plunge of 48 cents from the all-time high set on June 23. The average price in California retreated another 8.1 cents this week to 403.7 cents per gallon.

Average U.S. retail diesel prices plunged for the fifth consecutive week, losing another 14.6 cents to hit 420.7 cents per gallon, a drop of 55.7 cents from the all-time high reached on July 14. Despite the decline, the average U.S. diesel price was still 133.9 cents higher than it was a year ago. The average price on the East Coast tumbled another 15.7 cents to 426.3 cents per gallon. Although the price drop of 13.7 cents in the Midwest was the smallest of any region, the resulting price remained the lowest of any region, at 413 cents per gallon. The average price in the Gulf Coast fell 14.3 cents, to 415.6 cents per gallon. In the Rocky Mountains, the price sank another 15.4 cents to 431.9 cents per gallon. Shrinking another 15.5 cents, the West Coast price dropped to 435.6 cents per gallon, a decrease of more than 55 cents from the record set on July 14. In California, the average price plummeted another 18.5 cents to 442.2 cents per gallon.

Robust Propane Build Continues
Propane inventories at the primary level continued their robust pace last week, gaining 1.6 millions barrels to push inventories up to an estimated 50.8 million barrels as of August 15, 2008. However, in spite of the strong weekly build, propane inventories remain below the average range for this time of year. Gains were concentrated in the Midwest and Gulf Coast regions that reported inventories up by 0.5 million barrels and 1.0 million barrels, respectively. While Midwest inventories remain within the average range, Gulf Coast inventories remain well below the average range during this same time. East Coast and the combined Rocky Mountain/West Coast regions reported relatively flat inventories last week. Propylene non-fuel use inventories also remained flat last week but their share of total propane/propylene inventories was slightly lower at 5.8 percent, compared with the prior week.

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