Article

Commodities: Cheese down, wheat up, gas down, pizza stocks in flux

The price for cheese dropped, wheat cost increased, gas and natural gas continued to decrease, and pizza stocks fluctuated.

Commodities

November 2, 2015 by Travis Wagoner — Editor, Networld Media Group

Cheese

Average block cheese prices dipped a bit last week on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Prices were $1.62 Monday, $1.62 Tuesday, $1.60 Wednesday, $1.59 Thursday and $1.62 Friday. Previous week's prices were $1.65 Monday, $1.63 Tuesday, $1.61 Wednesday, $1.61 Thursday and $1.61 Friday.

Wheat

Wheat prices increased last week to $5.25 on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange, up from $5.08 the previous week.

Gasoline and diesel fuel

Monday's nationwide average for regular unleaded gasoline decreased to $2.19, down from $2.20 the previous week, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.

Prices are down from $2.29 a month ago, and are significantly lower than this time last year, when consumers were paying $2.99 at the pump.

Mid-range unleaded is down 2 cents from $2.48 to $2.46, while Monday's premium unleaded price is $2.69, down 1 cent from last week.

The nationwide average for diesel fuel decreased to $2.48, down 2 cents from $2.50 last week. Diesel prices were $2.49 a month ago, and are more than $1 down from a year ago, when prices were $3.60.

Natural gas

Natural gas prices fell at many market locations again this report week (Wednesday, Oct. 21, to Wednesday, Oct. 28). The Henry Hub spot price fell 26 cents from $2.36 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) last Wednesday to $2.10/MMBtu yesterday.

At the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of the near-month (November 2015) futures contract fell by 37 cents from $2.404/MMBtu last Wednesday to $2.033/MMBtu yesterday. The November futures contract settled on Wednesday, and, starting today, December is now the prompt-month contract.

Pizza company stocks

Shares in Pizza Hut parent Yum! Brands Inc. closed Friday at $70.91, down from last week's $72.89.

Domino's finished last week at $106.67, up more than $2 from last week's $104.10.

Papa John's closed Friday at $70.17. It came in at $70.54 the previous week.

Shares in Papa Murphy's increased after dropping for the past several weeks, closing at 13.81, up from last week's $13.62. Four weeks ago it closed at $14.17.

About Travis Wagoner

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Travis Wagoner spent nearly 18 years in education as an alumni relations and communications director, coordinating numerous annual events and writing, editing and producing a quarterly, 72-plus-page magazine. Travis also was a ghostwriter for an insurance firm, writing about the Affordable Care Act. He holds a BA degree in communications/public relations from Xavier University.