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.

Current Pa propane prices for the week ending January 11. Propane prices per gallon pa continued to rise this week. Residential propane prices Pennsylvania rose almost 13 cents this week. This is because propane inventories continue to fall. Increase in demand from the recent cold weather have caused prices to jump. Wholesale propane prices for pa also rose this week by 10 cents.

Propane Prices for Pennsylvania for the week ending Jan 4 2010. For the 6th straight week propane prices Pa have increased. This week wholesale propane prices jumped over 7 cents while residential propane prices PA rose over 8 cents.

What Influences Propane Prices?

What will propane gas cost to fill your tank this year? What kind of price can I expect from my propane supplier?Propane prices occasionally spike, increasing disproportionately beyond that expected from normal supply/demand fluctuations. The main cause appears to lie in the logistical difficulty of obtaining resupply during the peak heating season. Because propane is produced at a relatively steady rate year-round by refineries and gas processing plants, there is no ready source of incremental production when supplies run low.

Propane wholesalers and retailers are forced to pay higher prices as propane markets are bid higher due to dwindling supply. Consequently, higher propane prices are simply passed on to consumers. Imports do not offer much cushion for unexpected demand increases or supply shortages due to the long travel time. On the other hand, when propane prices do spike, the petrochemical sector may cut back on its use, thus freeing up supplies for other uses.

Propane prices are subject to a number of influences, some common to all petroleum products, and others unique to propane. Because propane is portable, it can serve many different markets, from fueling barbecue grills to producing petrochemicals. The price of propane in these markets is influenced by many factors, including the prices of competing fuels in each market; the distance propane has to travel to reach a customer; and the volumes used by a customer. More especially, propane prices are affected by Crude Oil and Natural Gas Prices. Although propane is produced from both crude oil refining and natural gas processing, its price is influenced mainly by the cost of crude oil. This is because propane competes mostly with crude oil-based fuels.

source:EnergyInformationAgency

Date    Weekly Mont Belvieu, TX Propane Spot Price FOB  (Cents per Gallon)

Use these prices as a guide when purchasing propane gas.