 鲜花( 98)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?1 X& O5 B. @( {8 U g [
Published: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET- {/ s3 @( a; }! b
Canadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine2 `3 P1 C! ]3 b' b( ~! d- M; L* a
! o7 X$ s2 O$ S3 ]$ ^: Y
CALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction." k X7 J9 U4 A- C6 b
& B' f% d6 t: ?5 D/ r/ Z8 _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.
/ H; P) Y( m( [. c4 d+ J- ^" V2 w
+ W) C( g7 X% y1 e# \ W4 F; lCalgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day." g2 g! x0 \$ }5 Z' J2 ~7 g
, S$ X# F+ Q5 H+ E
"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.$ H8 `9 v, w/ P- s
, o+ W6 H, K2 LBut Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer.
& ~/ T3 t) a0 M: m* Q2 F+ X5 A3 p! S4 J3 c6 \
"I definitely changed my habits in the summer. I was going to go on two road trips, which I did not go on by virtue of the fact that the prices were so high," Lawnikanis said.! B, u6 G3 P8 j. o
8 u$ ]4 C0 t( R5 ["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 t+ U# h, l8 _1 ^' ^2 v
3 y: w# m2 ^5 R" `/ QIn Toronto Friday, pump prices were 80.9 cents per litre. On Thursday they were 79.4 and a week ago they were 74.2.
/ z, g- u" P8 z# k6 i3 H3 R- |$ _$ V) l0 p
Vancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago.6 Q- A2 i- B) y+ T& G0 ~+ r3 l
4 Z, Q* h- L3 ]$ x. tThe price of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has been dropping steeply since it's peak of $147 reached in July.% o; \9 l R4 s/ _- [+ W! [0 b# G! Z8 |- M
/ s( Q! [: W' g; f/ z
The February contract for crude oil settled at US$36.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from more than US$50 a barrel a week ago.
' z g( N5 l3 P: ~- {( x) f4 _# N
8 f* T) H5 g$ H2 I$ Z"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.
$ V. b# l( F( S1 q' r) p" m) Y! d9 o
Industry players would say they have to account for transportation, marketing and other expenses - not to mention taxes, which vary from province to province.
8 t+ X1 T- l7 `/ J5 r* b- D
) ^0 H' N+ o( F' ?0 A$ ~; ZBut those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit.
`/ P; ~: z0 k2 s: F" f& |4 Z
u; E' r; G9 w6 o3 D8 p2 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. J9 @ B8 C. T9 p
% Z) N# P* U9 M
"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."' @! T+ T# Z$ s, I
2 [4 k- A2 d8 w
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 $42.57 on Friday.* w* `1 B1 H8 _8 j' P) h, X$ g: ]6 Y
% U/ ~( `9 c% 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.* h( _, X# Y6 h6 V
6 [* c1 P+ ^$ U5 }- THirsch 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.$ K7 H% u( g0 G: U8 M
$ M8 [- e6 n; F* n6 m8 ^9 t
"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said.
4 h( a$ W, I: Z3 K S4 H4 ?4 a$ Y2 k$ D) g) a8 z6 u: x
"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."6 `" ?7 \. c& d8 i7 _
7 k8 @7 d% n' Y6 u9 z
But 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./ b# S8 D# P( w+ b+ F3 {, q
2 l, z* d2 q/ w. I; O$ W" I) ~
"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.
" _. f: ]) X! Q0 N; `2 l! I
& s. O0 @- v" W J7 x"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." |
|