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Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?, z$ U/ V+ z. V$ d, a. P
Published: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET* R! y/ J. ~% L# D% J
Canadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine$ I. Y( k/ L6 H) }8 I
: a6 b. @# L; X' \3 @ nCALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.. W, k& t8 Q% f) n* c& U( F
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The average Canadian pump price rose to around 81.75 cents per litre Friday - more than three cents more than a week ago, according to the price-tracking website Gasbuddy.com.
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Calgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.. C7 I' j4 I& q9 S4 g) c
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"I don't actually understand it and I do work in the oil and gas industry, so I'm perplexed about it," said Paul Lawnikanis as he filled up his truck at a Calgary Esso station, which was selling gas for 80.4 cents per litre., S+ [5 F$ p/ R) U
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But Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer.; {. ^' s2 Y8 O d% w* r# Y
5 ^% m4 Y8 @ V& Z' N$ ^) x% T3 x"I definitely changed my habits in the summer. I was going to go on two road trips, which I did not go on by virtue of the fact that the prices were so high," Lawnikanis said.
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"Because of the fact that the prices are so reasonable, I've actually taken the liberty to drive more. I've really enjoyed doing more driving."2 G; d- O7 C# _, a T
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In Toronto Friday, pump prices were 80.9 cents per litre. On Thursday they were 79.4 and a week ago they were 74.2.0 H3 v4 r5 A. {& v
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Vancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago.
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The price of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has been dropping steeply since it's peak of $147 reached in July.
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- P+ H4 {/ ]- h- k3 B a b8 r: EThe February contract for crude oil settled at US$36.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from more than US$50 a barrel a week ago.
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3 ^' H( K, g0 v! V( G"Crude oil is an important input into the distillation of gasoline. But there's a lot of other factors as well," said Todd Hirsch, senior economist with ATB Financial in Calgary.3 J! g" X( A. t0 o* b3 z& O
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Industry players would say they have to account for transportation, marketing and other expenses - not to mention taxes, which vary from province to province.: r0 V1 `8 j# _
% l5 x! b( H$ u9 {, IBut those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit.
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3 a7 Y5 a2 L$ |/ V k1 u+ l"Without question those gasoline prices are going to be the highest they think they can get away with without their competitor undercutting them," said Hirsch.' L' |4 L- f4 } A, G+ O
& G" A% L0 u+ ?"They're out to maximize their profits for their shareholders. I don't think there's anything evil going on in them trying to get the highest price. Every retailer in the country does this."% s9 I) \4 K( Y
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Another explanation could be that the February contract for crude oil expires on Tuesday, and the contract for March is already significantly higher, settling at $42.57 on Friday.
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$ o) O6 b" P% p, ~$ I F"(The oil companies) might have realized that while prices were low in the last couple of weeks, they knew that there was going to be a correction," Hirsch said.8 Y% X6 }4 B' P: y) f+ q
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Hirsch expects pump prices to bounce between 60 and 90 cents per litre over the next few months, but not retesting the heights of last summer.
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"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said.
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! q- p3 G$ Z; G7 ]- O; ~4 |"In the next six months I would expect to see gasoline prices more or less in the range they're in now, maybe firming up a little bit towards the spring and summer driving season as demand rises."0 B5 [3 h1 f; ^; }+ H$ V
0 D {4 c% v3 `" K! q( SBut Gasbuddy.com co-founder Jason Toews said he sees gas prices going higher than their current levels because of a slowdown in Alberta's oilsands and expected production cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exploring Countries.7 G: B v/ u1 J+ ^
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"With lower supplies of crude oil in the market it's going to push crude oil prices up, especially if the economy starts to recover a little bit," Toews said." M x4 J9 S! j3 i. a; m! N
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"Once the summer demand for gasoline comes, we're going to see gas prices go up quite a bit from where they are right now. We're going to see a return of a $1 per litre gas for sure and we may even see up to $1.20 per litre." |
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发表于 2009-1-16 19:10
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