Energy prices increased by 59% during 2021 in the US
Energy prices at the end of 2021 were 59% higher than at the beginning of the year, according to a new report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
The boom in energy prices, which has outstripped gains seen from other commodities, was largely the result of the economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Most of the other commodities in the S&P Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (GSCI) recorded an increase of approximately 20%, with the exception of precious metals, which recorded a decline.
Within the energy part of the commodity index which tracks the performance of global commodity markets, RBOB (wholesale gasoline) recorded the largest gain with 67%, followed by heating oil, then by the WTI and from Brent. Diesel and natural gas completed the GSCI energy segment.
WTI and Brent recorded an increase of 62% and 55% respectively.
The strengthening energy index prices also reap the rewards of power outages and adverse weather conditions (including the February freeze and Hurricane Ida), as well as an increase in demand for gasoline and diesel and an increase in demand for crude oil. and natural gas that has outgrown production.
The Covid-19 pandemic has reduced investment in oil and gas to a near-record load, amplifying the mismatch between supply and demand for crude oil.
Crude oil production rose to 11.8 million barrels per day in the United States in the week ending December 24, the last week for which the EIA provided data, down from 13.1 million barrels per day. day of March 2020, when the destruction of demand was not yet evident in the market. So we still have a shortage of supply which was precisely the basis of the price growth.
These peaks in energy prices, linked to the recovery in demand, however, risk becoming the greatest brake on the economic recovery itself, if they are not resolved in time.
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The article Energy prices increased by 59% during 2021 in the USA comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/i-prezzi-dellenergia-cresciuti-del-59-durante-il-2021-negli-usa/ on Tue, 04 Jan 2022 14:19:04 +0000.