Coffee With Greta: Import Prices Fall as Fuel Prices Tumble
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Good morning friends!
Futures are rising as the market is on track for its 4th straight winning week amid bets inflation has peaked.
Let’s get right to it!
U.S. Import Prices Drop for the First Time This Year
U.S. import prices fell 1.4% in July, the first decline seen in 2022.
That was steeper than expectations for a 1% drop and the largest since April 2020.
The price of imported goods was still up 8.8% year over year, the smallest increase since March 2021.
Import prices minus fuel fell 0.5%, the third straight monthly decline.
The cost of imported fuel dropped 7.5% as gas prices tumbled from record-highs.
But fuel import prices are still up 56.6% over the past year.
Export prices fell 3.3% in July and were up 13.1% annually.
Rivian Tops Q2 Expectations
Rivian (RIVN) shares are up 1.4% ahead of the open after reporting a smaller Q2 profit loss than expected.
The electric automaker reported an adjusted loss of $1.62 per share on $364 million in revenue.
That was better than analysts’ expectations for a loss of $1.63 per share on $337.5 million in revenue.
Rivian confirmed it still expects to produce about 25,000 vehicles this year.
The company previously reported it delivered 4,467 vehicles in the second quarter.
Rivian said it had 98,000 preorders for its R1-series truck and SUV at the end of Q2.
The automaker lowered its full-year outlook, calling for a wider loss than previously forecast.
Oil Prices Dip
Oil prices are slipping today amid conflicting views for global oil demand.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures are down 1.6% to under $93 bbl while Brent crude futures are down 1.3% to just over $98 bbl.
OPEC cut its forecast for world oil demand in 2022 on Thursday while the International Energy Agency hiked its 2022 demand growth forecast.
OPEC slashed its forecast by 260,000 barrels per day, expecting an increase of 3.1 million bpd.
But the IEA raised its forecast to 2.1 million bpd.
The group also raised its outlook for Russian oil supply by 500,000 bpd for the second half of this year and said OPEC would struggle to boost production.
Gas Prices Slide Further
U.S. gas prices slid further below $4 today.
AAA shows the price dropped to $3.978/gal.
That’s $1.04 lower than the record-high in June but $0.79 higher than the same time last year.
The national average for diesel is down to $5.060/gal.
That’s $0.76 lower than the record-high and $1.77 higher than a year ago.
Consumer Sentiment Expected to Rise
The University of Michigan’s preliminary consumer sentiment index for August will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET today.
That survey is expected to have improved by 1 point to 52.5 this month.
The index also includes consumers’ expectations for inflation over the next five years.
Americans have been resilient in the face of surging inflation pressures this year.