Commodities: Papa John’s, Domino’s droop as supply costs soar

Pizza brand stocks were mixed in trading last week: Papa John’s share price fell further in the wake of its CEO’s controversial comments about the NFL; and Domino’s continued its  downward trend for a second week.

Commodity prices didn’t offer any silver lining to the cloud, either. Most essentials trended higher, driven by the rising price of petroleum products, which currently are experiencing record consumption.

Cheese

Wednesday would have been a harrowing day for dairy farmers, as the bottom fell out for cheese prices, which plummeted to $1.60 on average. However, it was a momentary dip; by the end of the week, cheese was back trading around the current average of $1.71.

Wheat

Compared with the previous week, wheat traded mostly higher.

Kansas City U.S. No. 1 Hard Red Winter, ordinary protein rail bid was 13 1/4 cents to 17 1/4 cents higher, at $4.74–$6.14 per bushel. Kansas City U.S. No. 2 Soft Red winter rail was not quoted.

St. Louis truck U.S. No. 2 Soft Red Winter terminal bid was 5 cents to 6 cents higher, at $4.36–$4.44 per bushel.

Minneapolis and Duluth U.S. No. 1 Dark Northern Spring, 14 to 14.5 percent protein rail, was 20 1/4 cents to 35 1/4 cents higher, at $7.73–$7.98 per bushel. Portland U.S. Soft White rail was steady to 5 cents higher, at $5.25–$5.35 per bushel.

Gasoline and diesel

Natural gas

Natural gas spot prices rose at most locations during the report week (Wednesday, Nov. 1 to Wednesday, Nov. 8). The Henry Hub spot price rose from $2.64/MMBtu last Wednesday to $3.15/MMBtu yesterday.

At the New York Mercantile Exchange, the December 2017 contract price rose 28 cents from $2.893/MMBtu last Wednesday to $3.175/MMBtu yesterday.

Net injections to working gas totaled 15 Bcf for the week ending Nov. 3. Working natural gas stocks are 3,790 Bcf, which is 5 percent less than the year-ago level and 2 percent lower than the five-year (2012–2016) average for this week.

The natural gas plant liquids composite price at Mont Belvieu, Texas, fell 6 cents, averaging $8.22/MMBtu for the week ending Nov. 8. The prices of propane, butane, and isobutane fell 2 percent, 3 percent, and 3 percent, respectively. The prices of natural gasoline and ethane rose 3 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

According to Baker Hughes, for the week ending Friday, Nov. 3, the natural gas rig count decreased by 3 to 169. The number of oil-directed rigs fell by 8 to 729. The total rig count decreased by 11, and it now stands at 898.

Pizza company stocks

Dropping for the second week in a row, Domino’s share price fell from $177.94 on Nov. 3 to $173.33 on Friday, Nov. 10.

Domino’s pain is likely shared by Papa John’s, which has also experienced a slide in share value over the past two weeks. in last   week’s trading the brand’s shares fell from $61.47 on Friday, Nov. 3, to $59.53 on Friday, Nov. 10.

Meanwhile, Pizza Hut parent, Yum Brands continued a trend of moderate gains over the week, settling at $79.59 Friday, compared with $78.91 the previous week. Papa Murphy’s also rose through the trading week, closing up 4 cents Friday at $5.70.