Article

Commodities: Wheat jumps

The price for cheese fluctuated, wheat increased by 18 cents, gasoline continued to decrease, natural gas prices were up and pizza stocks mostly up.

December 7, 2015 by Travis Wagoner — Editor, Networld Media Group

The price, last week, for cheese fluctuated, wheat increased by 18 cents, gasoline continued to decrease, natural gas prices were up and pizza stocks mostly up. Details are below.

Cheese

Average block cheese prices fluctuated during the week on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Prices were $1.57 Monday, $1.56 Tuesday, $1.53 Wednesday, $1.55 Thursday and $1.52 Friday. The previous week's prices were $1.58 Monday, $1.57 Tuesday and $1.56 Wednesday. (The market was closed Thursday and Friday due to the Thanksgiving holiday.)

Wheat

Wheat prices increased to $5.28 on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange. It was $5.10 the previous week.

Gasoline and diesel fuel

Monday's nationwide average for regular unleaded gasoline decreased to $2.03, down from $2.04 the previous week, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.

Prices are down from $2.22 a month ago, and are significantly lower than this time last year, when consumers were paying $2.68 at the pump.

Mid-range unleaded is down from $2.32 to $2.31, while Monday's premium unleaded price was $2.54, down 1 cent from last week.

The nationwide average for diesel fuel decreased to $2.39, down 3 cents from $2.42 last week. Diesel prices were also $2.49 a month ago, and are more than $1 down from a year ago, when prices were $3.51.

Natural gas

Natural gas prices were mixed over the report week (Wednesday, Nov. 25, through Wednesday, Dec. 2).

The Henry Hub spot price began the week at $2.06 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) last Wednesday and ended the week up, at $2.17.

Pizza company stocks

Shares in Pizza Hut parent Yum! Brands Inc. closed Friday at $76.14, up more than $4 from last week's $72.96.

Domino's finished last week at $109.83, up more than $1 from last week's $108.65.

Papa John's closed Friday at $58.23, up from $58.11 the previous week.

Shares in Papa Murphy's closed Friday at 11.61, down from last week's $12.56. Four weeks ago it closed at $12.16.

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.