 鲜花( 98)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?
9 r G. z( p+ t- O: }' n# O# A5 fPublished: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET
) f/ E) ?& }# O# n- p3 O4 d+ PCanadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine1 a* b9 g7 j' F6 }- j1 ]+ p% \
, e/ [7 H' c# [. G
CALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.
3 Q) ?. n: F& I* X
" ?7 @( l0 D9 P4 s2 t7 pThe 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., ], D5 ^" K: S9 \* {, _- E" Z
0 x/ K* F) `/ o$ BCalgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.
0 L: y% {% n6 ^& ~# q1 l+ |6 L9 K( y2 T$ {6 P* e# W1 d# ]4 V
"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." p& k$ t+ B. f
0 v0 f' M' u5 r u! ]7 s! k# f
But Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer.
( v2 F: {, o( W- s, r
) M+ o- Q* t7 X; e"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.' H) q+ g! x& d1 M3 v! E
2 }% q8 }0 k# T: v+ N"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."
, N e2 ~) i6 C' Z9 \. ~8 Z/ v, X: i( v8 ~
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.
$ n/ D% B/ K6 f- N: L* M/ x/ G6 }1 \
Vancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago.0 ?) K& V! W7 o1 `
2 K6 w( E1 J: uThe price of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has been dropping steeply since it's peak of $147 reached in July.% L7 q- |/ h+ a; h
" P8 s- g( j: _- U0 ?' u0 UThe February contract for crude oil settled at US$36.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from more than US$50 a barrel a week ago.+ ^" @; A% ?3 s- d% e9 L0 i
& r$ w; }; T3 z$ d+ T
"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.6 T* T# w# O' S- z1 d0 J* m) m
; J1 {6 x; T) B4 Z+ SIndustry players would say they have to account for transportation, marketing and other expenses - not to mention taxes, which vary from province to province.* Q0 i/ I; G+ J2 J& _( x6 R2 I0 Q/ S
2 B+ a" t X3 J4 r& ?0 v" N" W
But those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit.5 |% o A. H* X+ b
) S4 Q+ \9 S7 b: x( ~; o2 D9 M"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.
6 T; ^6 W" i7 N0 a2 q/ i) o- U
^3 v9 `. h7 M6 q- j! q! ` ~. [: f"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."
. r6 c, b# {3 u
/ r7 f9 a% q! o6 p1 \) L% L& OAnother explanation could be that the February contract for crude oil expires on Tuesday, and the contract for March is already significantly higher, settling at $42.57 on Friday.
: a7 w. _% V4 A& X/ I: R8 n; \# D8 {5 Z! g2 P/ Z
"(The oil companies) might have realized that while prices were low in the last couple of weeks, they knew that there was going to be a correction," Hirsch said.
; N. C/ p, |* \- f* o k. o$ w W1 L( ?1 @2 ]' \
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./ ^7 ], Q% j8 n1 o! T$ ?1 Z% ]
3 ~; p" s- c& I# _; S"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said.
# C2 e/ _4 a$ A6 L2 x) @* R- Z0 R* b/ B: c# l' Y3 I
"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."% K5 F/ _- a. p9 M- v6 U8 }
, D# E- B' ], Q+ E! yBut 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.: f* I3 j- Z1 L
5 G& ^( b" ]# V! J& X
"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.6 l9 T. n, g9 I5 T' M* c
% G% E/ A7 y$ H- Z$ g" `2 _: _* j3 N"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." |
|
狗仔卡
发表于 2009-1-16 19:10
提升卡
置顶卡
沉默卡
喧嚣卡
变色卡
显身卡
