After reaching a peak of 73 million barrels in October, an 11-year high, propane supplies have dropped precipitously through the winter heating season. The inventory draw appears to have tapered off last week as total U.S. inventories fell 0.5 million barrels to 26.8 million barrels. The Gulf Coast region led the decline with a 1.7 million barrel draw. All other regions realized a gain in propane inventories. East Coast stocks built by 1.0 million barrels, the Midwest region increased by 0.2 million barrels, and the Rocky Mountain/West Coast region was slightly higher.

Propane prices for the average residential use ticked up a half cent this week. The average propane price is now $2.688 per gallon. Compared to last year, that is a increase of nearly 36 cents. Wholesale propane gas prices rose just over 7 cents per gallon to reach $1.527 a gallon. This is a hugh increase of over 66 cents per gallon when compared to last years price at this time.

Propane inventories declined by 1.3 million barrels this week. This compares to the 4.8 million draw down back on January 15, 2010. Propane Gas inventories declined by almost 1 million barrels in the Gulf Coast region while the Midwest dropped about .4 million barrels. East Coast saw a slight build up in propane inventory.

Current Propane Gas Prices

The average residential propane prices jumped 12.7 cents per gallon to reach 266.1 cents per gallon. This was an increase of 35.5 cents per gallon compared to the same period last year. Wholesale propane gas prices rose 9.6 cents per gallon to reach 156.5 cents per gallon. This was an increase of 65.2 cents per gallon when compared to the January 12, 2009 price of 91.3 cents per gallon.

Propane Gas Inventories Continue to Nosedive
Propane gas supply across the country continued to fall last week. Total U.S. inventories drew by 3.5 million barrels to 46.0 million barrels total. The Gulf Coast region led the draw with 1.7 million barrels, while the Midwest region drew 1.0 million barrels of inventory. The East Coast regional propane inventories fell by 0.7 million barrels and the Rocky Mountain/West Coast region drew about 0.1 million barrels.

Current propane prices for the week ending 1/4/2010

The average residential propane price gained 7.3 cents per gallon to reach 253.6 cents per gallon. This was an increase of 22.6 cents per gallon compared to the same period last year. Wholesale propane prices rose 4.7 cents per gallon to reach 146.9 cents per gallon. This was an increase of 64.6 cents per gallon when compared to the January 5, 2009 price of 82.3 cents per gallon.

Propane Continues Seasonal Draw
Cold temperatures across the Nation led total U.S. inventories of propane to fall last week by 3 million barrels to 49.4 million barrels. The cumulative stockdraw during December totaled nearly 12 million barrels, about 2.8 million barrels higher than the most recent 5-year average, as spells of cold weather swept through some of the major propane heating regions during the month. The Midwest region drew 1.3 million barrels and the Gulf Coast region drew 1.0 million barrels. The East Coast and Rocky Mountain/West Coast regions each drew 0.3 million barrels of propane inventory.

Propane Inventories Draw Again
Total U.S. inventories of propane continued to decline last week, falling 3.4 million barrels to 54 million barrels. The Gulf Coast region drew 2.1 million barrels of propane stocks and the Midwest region declined 1.2 million barrels. The East Coast stocks dropped by 0.3 million barrels and the Rocky Mountain/West Coast region gained slightly.

Inventories of Propane Experience a Large Draw
Last week propane inventories experienced the largest weekly draw since February 2007, falling below the lower limit of the average range for the first time this year. Total U.S. inventories decreased 4.0 million barrels to 57.4 million barrels. The Gulf Coast regional stocks dropped 2.2 million barrels and the Midwest region declined 1.1 million barrels. The East Coast and Rocky Mountain/West Coast regions each drew 0.3 million barrels of inventory.

Propane Inventories  Continue to Draw
Over the past eight weeks, propane inventories have plummeted 11.5 million barrels from a level well above the average range to near the lower boundary of the average range. Total U.S. inventories of propane fell by 1.3 million barrels last week to 61.4 million barrels. The Midwest regional stocks experienced the largest decline of 0.8 million barrels. The Gulf Coast region drew by 0.4 million barrels and the Rocky Mountain/West Coast region fell by 0.1 million barrels. The East Coast regional inventories grew slightly.

Current propane prices continue to trend upward this winter. The average residential propane gas price increased 1.6 cents per gallon to reach 228.9 cents per gallon. This was a decrease of 11.2 cents per gallon compared to the 240.1 cents per gallon average from the same period last year. Wholesale propane prices gained 2.7 cents per gallon, from 120.1 cents per gallon to 122.8 cents per gallon. This was an increase of 36.9 cents per gallon when compared to the December 1, 2008 price of 85.9 cents per gallon.

Propane Inventories Decline Again
Total U.S. inventories of propane fell last week for the seventh straight week, by 0.9 million barrels, to 62.7 million barrels. The Gulf Coast realized the largest decline of 0.9 million barrels, while the Midwest regional inventories dropped 0.8 million barrels. The East Coast regional inventories grew by 0.7 million barrels and the Rocky Mountain/West Coast inventories rose slightly.

source EIA

current proapne gas prices

The average residential propane price increased 3.1 cents per gallon to reach 227.2 cents per gallon. This was a decrease of 14.3 cents per gallon compared to the 241.5 cents per gallon average from the same period last year. Current propane prices gained 3.1 cents per gallon, from 117.0 cents per gallon to 120.1 cents per gallon. This was an increase of 38.9 cents per gallon when compared to the November 24, 2008 price of 81.2 cents per gallon.

Propane Inventories Continue to Decline
Propane inventories continued to fall last week from their October peak. Total U.S. inventories dropped over 1.8 million barrels to 63.6 last week. Consequently, primary inventories of propane have moved closer to the lower boundary of the average range for this time of year. The Midwest region led the decline with 1.3 million barrels of  drawn. The East Coast regional inventories declined 0.4 million barrels, while the Gulf Coast and Rocky Mountain/West Coast regions both drew 0.1 million barrels of inventory.

source EIA