by Calculated Risk on 8/11/2015 07:19:00 PM

From the WSJ: U.S. Oil Falls to Six-Year Low

Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell $1.88, or 4.2%, to settle at $43.08 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. ... U.S. oil to its lowest settlement since March 11, 2009, when the U.S. economy was still reeling from the financial crisis.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell $1.23, or 2.4%, to $49.18 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. It is within $3 of its six-year low set in January.

Here is a graph from Gasbuddy.com for nationwide gasoline prices. Nationally prices are at $2.58 per gallon, well above the 6 year low of $2.02 per gallon set in January.

There are several reasons why gasoline prices are still so high, including: 1) it takes time for declines in oil prices to reach the pump, 2) there is a seasonal component (this is the driving season), and 3) supply issues in California. However, gasoline prices should follow oil prices down over the next several weeks.

Wednesday:
• At 7:00 AM ET, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) will release the results for the mortgage purchase applications index.

• At 10:00 AM, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey for June from the BLS. Jobs openings increased in May to 5.363 million from 5.334 million in April. The number of job openings were up 16% year-over-year, and Quits were up 8% year-over-year.

• At 2:00 PM, the Monthly Treasury Budget Statement for July.