Article

Commodities: Pizza stocks rally

The price for cheese remained steady, wheat and gasoline increased, natural gas fell, and pizza stocks rebounded.

February 22, 2016 by Travis Wagoner — Editor, Networld Media Group

The price for cheese remained steady, wheat and gasoline increased, natural gas fell, and pizza stocks rebounded. Details are below.

Cheese

Average block cheese prices held steady during the week on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Prices were $1.49 Tuesday through Friday. The market was closed Monday in honor of the President's Day holiday. The previous week's prices were $1.47 Monday and Tuesday and $1.49 Wednesday through Friday. 

Wheat

Wheat prices increased 8 cents to $4.93 from the previous week on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange. It was $4.85 the previous week.

Gasoline and diesel fuel

Monday's nationwide average for regular unleaded gasoline increased to $1.71 from $1.70 the previous week, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.

Prices are down from $1.85 a month ago, and are significantly lower than this time last year, when consumers were paying $2.29 at the pump.

Mid-range remained increased 1 cent from last week to $1.99, while Monday's premium unleaded price was $2.21, remaining unchanged from last week.

The nationwide average for diesel fuel decreased to $1.98, down 1 cent from $1.99 last week. Diesel prices were also $2.11 a month ago, and 88 cents down from a year ago, when prices were $2.83.

Natural gas

Natural gas prices fell substantially at most market locations this report week (Wednesday, Feb. 10, to Wednesday, Feb. 17), with the biggest declines in the Northeast. The Henry Hub spot price fell from $2.13 per MMBtu last Wednesday to $1.91/MMBtu yesterday.

At the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), the price of the near-month (March 2016) contract fell a dime from $2.046/MMBtu last Wednesday to $1.942/MMBtu yesterday.

Pizza company stocks

Shares in Pizza Hut parent Yum! Brands Inc closed Friday at $70.52, up from last week's $67.34.

Domino's finished last week at $112.87, up from last week's $109.50.

Papa John's closed Friday at $53.24, up from $50.31 the previous week.

Shares in Papa Murphy's closed Friday at $9.84, up from last week's $8.92. Four weeks ago it closed at $10.50.

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.