News
Commodities update — Jan. 28, 2008
January 27, 2008
CHICAGO — The price of block cheese on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange averaged $1.65 per pound for the shortened trade week ended Jan. 18, down 5 percent from an average of $1.74 per pound the previous week. The markets were closed Jan. 21 for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
Prices were unchanged for the entire week.
Cheese prices are up about 27 percent compared with the same week last year, when they averaged $1.30 per pound.
Wheat
Wheat futures for March delivery closed at $9.33 per bushel on Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade, down more than 29 cents compared with the previous Friday.
Gasoline and diesel fuel
The nationwide average for regular unleaded gasoline fell to 2.98 per gallon Jan. 21, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service, the first time the average price dipped below $3.00 per gallon in more than a month. Prices were down slightly from an average of $3.02 a month ago and up 39 percent from an average of $2.14 this time last year. Mid-range unleaded averaged $3.17, while premium unleaded stood at $3.28 per gallon. The nationwide average price for diesel fuel stood at $3.37 per gallon Jan. 20, down slightly from an average of $3.39 a week ago. Diesel prices are up 33 percent from an average of $2.53 per gallon this time last year.
Natural gas
Natural gas spot prices for the period from Jan. 18 to Jan. 23 fell in most areas of the country despite the continuing cold weather, ending the period at $7.84 per thousand BTUs. Prices in the Northeast and in Florida continued to rise, however.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, natural gas prices in Arizona/Nevada and the Midwest fell by an average of 33 cents per MMBtu last week, while prices in the Northeast increased about 22 percent, reaching a regional average price of $11.58 per MMBtu. Prices in Florida ended the week at $9.29 per MMBtu, up about 7 percent from the previous week.
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