Article

Commodities: Gas holding steady; cheese, wheat prices climb

Last week's prices show a significant rise in the cost of cheese and wheat.

June 8, 2015 by Nicole Troxell — Associate Editor, Networld Media Group

Last week's prices show a significant rise in the cost of cheese and wheat. Gas remained relatively steady after weeks of continual price increases.

Here's a glimpse at the market:

Cheese

Block cheese prices averaged $1.73 last week on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, up from $1.67 the previous week.

Prices were $1.74 Monday, 1.77 Tuesday, $1.174 Wednesday, $1.72 Thursday and $1.71 Friday.

Wheat

Wheat averaged $5.65 last week on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange, up more than $0.20 from $5.43 the previous week.

Wheat closed at $5.48 Monday, $5.71 Tuesday, $5.63 Wednesday, $5.75 Thursday and $5.71 Friday.

Gasoline and diesel fuel

The nationwide average for regular unleaded gasoline is $2.75, slightly up from the previous week's average of $2.74, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.

Mid-range unleaded came in at $2.96, a penny increase from the week prior, while premium unleaded stayed steady at $3.14, the same price as the previous week.

The nationwide average for diesel fuel is $2.87, down a penny from last week.

Natural gas

Prices of natural gas at most market locations declined over the report week and remained relatively low. The Henry Hub spot price began the week at $2.82 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) and ended the week at $2.64/MMBtu.

At the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), the June contract expired at $2.815/MMBtu. The July contract moved into the front-month slot and declined over the week from $2.706/MMBtu to $2.634/MMBtu.

Pizza company stocks

Shares in Pizza Hut parent Yum! Brands Inc. closed at $90.55 Friday, a slight increase from $90.11 the previous week.

Domino's finished last week at $109.87, up from $108 .66 the previous week. DPZ hit a new 52-week high of $114 in late April.

Papa John's finished at $69.50 Friday, down from $69.78 the previous week. The company's 52-week high is $70.51.

Papa Murphy's turned in at $17.51 Friday, up from $17.10 the previous Friday. FRSH's 52-week high came in at $20 and its low at $8.08 this year.

About Nicole Troxell

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