Article

Wheat prices up $1 since October

Gas prices drop another dime in a week.

December 8, 2014 by Alicia Kelso — Editor, QSRWeb.com

Domino's Pizza hit another lifetime high last week, the seventh week in a row. Gas prices and cheese prices also continued to fall. 

Conversely, wheat prices have jumped and are $1 higher than they were less than two months ago. 

Here's a glimpse at the market this week.

Cheese

Cheese prices continued to slide on the Chicago Mercantile after hitting record-high prices earlier this year. Last week's average was $1.65, from $1.71 the week prior and $1.80 two weeks ago.

Cheese prices were $2.26 in October.

Last week, cheese closed at $1.71 Monday, $1.66 Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and $1.58 on Friday.

Wheat

Conversely, wheat prices continued an upward trajectory on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange, averaging $6.36 last week, from $5.97 the week prior. Wheat was as low as $5.36 in October.

Last week's prices closed at $6.50 Monday, $6.56 Tuesday, $6.35 Wednesday, $6.23 Thursday and $6.19 on Friday.

Gasoline and diesel fuel

Monday's nationwide average for regular unleaded gasoline is $2.66, a 10-cent drop from $2.76 the week prior. Gas prices were $2.94 a month ago.

Consumers were paying $3.26 at the pump this time last year, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.

Mid-range unleaded is $2.88 today, while the premium unleaded price is $3.07.

The nationwide average for diesel fuel today is $3.49, down from $3.56 the week prior. Diesel prices are also down from $3.62 a month ago and $3.85 a year ago.

Natural Gas

Spot markets were closed on Thursday and Friday of the report week (Nov. 26 to Dec. 3), due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Outside of the Northeast, spot prices fell at market locations across the country during the report week with closer-to-average temperatures in many locations during the last half of the report week. The Henry Hub spot price decreased from $4.24 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) Nov. 26 to $3.63/MMBtu Dec. 3.

At the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), the January 2015 contract fell steadily over the week, beginning at $4.355/MMBtu Nov. 26 and ending at $3.805/MMBtu Dec. 3.

Pizza company stocks

Shares in Pizza Hut parent Yum! Brands Inc. closed out last Friday at $77.73, up nearly a dollar from $76.75 the week prior and two dollars from $75.51 two weeks ago. Yum's 52-week high of $83.58 was reached in July. Its low of $65.81 was in early October after its Q3 earnings report that included another China supply chain crisis.

Domino's hit another lifetime high last week, its seventh week in a row, at $96.35. The company closed out Friday at $95.93, from $93.23 the week prior. DPZ's 52-week low was $66.18 a year ago. According to Seeking Alpha, Domino's shares are up 3,000 percent compared to what they were before its "Pizza Turnaround" campaign in 2010. "Domino's Pizza has staged one of the more epic comebacks from the financial crisis in the entirety of the stock market universe," the publication said.

Papa John's finished out last week at $54.06, up from $52.53 the week prior. PZZA's 52-week high of $55 was in March. Its low of $37.32 was a year ago.

Pizza Inn closed out last week at $6.92, up slightly from $6.81 the week prior. The company's 52-week high is $8.63, achieved last year. Its low is $5.38, from March.

Shares in Papa Murphy's closed last week at $10.11, a slight increase from $10.03 the week prior. In its ninth month on the NASDAQ, FRSH's high/low is $12.10/$8.08, respectively.

^{Photo provided by Wikipedia.} 

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