Article

Commodities: Savings to be had on gas, wheat

Cheese prices continued their ascent on the commodities market last week, but there were savings to be had on most other restaurant necessities.

July 5, 2016 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

There were still savings to be had on the price of wheat and gasoline last week, but the cost of cheese continued its steady path up the price scale. Meanwhile, all four major pizza stocks we track gained over the week, although the biggest winners were the biggest brands, like Domino's and Pizza Hut. 

Cheese
Cheese prices shot up last week after holding relatively steady for more than a week. The markets opened last Monday at $1.52, followed on Tuesday with a closing of $1.53, then spiking a nickel to $1.58 Wednesday, followed by another 8-cent increase on Thursday to close the week at $1.63, 12 cents higher than the previous week's close at $1.51.

Wheat
Wheat prices continued their decline, falling to $4.89 on Friday, down 21 cents from the previous week's close of $5.18, which was also down 22 cents from the previous week. 

Gasoline and diesel fuel
Monday's nationwide average for regular unleaded gasoline was $2.27, down three cents from a week ago, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.
Prices are down nine cents from a month ago and 50 cents from this time last year, when consumers were paying $2.77 at the pump.
Mid-range unleaded is down two cents from last week to $2.54, while Monday's premium unleaded price was down three cents to $2.77. 
The nationwide average for diesel fuel is $2.37, the same as one week ago, but up slightly from $2.35 one month ago. Diesel prices are substantially down from a year ago, when the price of a gallon was 49 cents higher at $2.84.  
 

Natural gas
Net imports of natural gas to the United States have declined substantially this year, averaging 2.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in April, up from a 30-year record low of 1.5 Bcf/d in March, according to EIA's Natural Gas Monthly. 

Recent growth in pipeline exports to Mexico have resulted in the decline in U.S. net imports, and a new infrastructure expansion set to come online in Mexico today is expected to further increase U.S. natural gas exports to Mexico.

Natural gas spot prices rose across most of the country between Wednesday, June 22 and Wednesday, June 29. The Henry Hub spot price continued its upward climb, rising by 15 cents from $2.78 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) last Wednesday to $2.93/MMBtu yesterday.

At the New York Mercantile Exchange, the July 2016 contract settled on Tuesday at $2.917/MMBtu, up 24 cents since last Wednesday. The August 2016 contract rose to $2.863/MMBtu yesterday, up 15 cents since last Wednesday.

The implied net flow to working gas totaled 42 Bcf for the week ending June 24. Working gas stocks are 3,140 Bcf, which is 23 percent above the year-ago level and 25 percent above the five-year (2011-15) average for this week.

According to Baker Hughes, for the week ending Friday, June 24, the natural gas rig count increased by 4 to 90, the largest weekly increase in natural gas rigs in nearly a year. Oil-directed rigs decreased by 7 to 330. The total rig count decreased by three over the week.

Pizza company stocks
Shares in Pizza Hut parent, Yum! Brands Inc. closed Friday at $83.53, up 61 cents from the previous close of $82.92.  
Domino's was up substantially to $132.59, from the previous close at $131.38.
Meanwhile, Papa John's and Papa Murphy's both made modest gains, including a 3-cent increase for Papa John's to 68.03 and a 1-cent increase for Papa Murphy's to $6.64. 

About S.A. Whitehead

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Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb editor Shelly Whitehead is a former newspaper and TV reporter with an affinity for telling stories about the people and innovative thinking behind great brands.