 鲜花( 98)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?( n7 W9 A9 a% _) @
Published: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET1 ~' o7 {% {& L" I+ \+ |
Canadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine1 A6 M6 ]# T* N1 A+ X) L
8 ], N4 {9 f. S. ?4 m9 b* TCALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.. ?# o: ^ V+ Y- H' v+ X) Q
0 _# c, v, b( I9 z4 m! {: p1 W0 uThe 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.
) B- z% @3 Z5 q, c
& U- _4 M* x$ e& ?$ I7 qCalgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.
8 c; c$ K/ R1 M! L0 e9 S' p
9 n* G, Z/ v# ^2 ["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.) @; e) o4 o7 o" f- n- m) ~
$ l! Y( n* `/ L+ x3 v! s" r# ^
But Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer.
+ T; Y/ M9 `) g' A( ~4 L/ ^
4 p2 B6 |6 q6 F. q; }5 p"I definitely changed my habits in the summer. I was going to go on two road trips, which I did not go on by virtue of the fact that the prices were so high," Lawnikanis said.
( |& j3 ?. |' H
6 k; r6 o5 z/ P% D"Because of the fact that the prices are so reasonable, I've actually taken the liberty to drive more. I've really enjoyed doing more driving."2 c$ ~- d5 D1 y* [/ j3 I$ X
( e) W% g" i8 } z' ^- ]
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.
( g P; a1 V3 O& e7 _. a" V4 C3 {- K3 v
Vancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago.6 u h7 F# [6 R) q9 D: d8 g) L/ }8 k
3 ?# ?. `$ v; k% L3 f2 E
The price of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has been dropping steeply since it's peak of $147 reached in July.
$ q: O) i* B9 N
0 u, v/ `5 h+ m7 O" q7 F# rThe February contract for crude oil settled at US$36.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from more than US$50 a barrel a week ago.
+ H7 ]' z4 _. K6 X6 b$ F; t2 Y; r- t! O- @( I/ x* M
"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./ Z; V1 C6 L5 v: d; L
2 X ~- y8 C) C$ `
Industry players would say they have to account for transportation, marketing and other expenses - not to mention taxes, which vary from province to province.
7 Z4 v! |! [" M( T& M7 S5 x/ T0 E6 t
But those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit.
$ z8 ]9 z. S3 X4 \) L8 R8 n# s
8 g6 E/ N* o7 d"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.# p& n9 W* [# o% F' ^' Z2 e9 V
% U" Y7 \. |" C6 B
"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."
) m* S% Z8 V6 x: j! s& w2 t
. a! R+ s1 v/ p" A! VAnother explanation could be that the February contract for crude oil expires on Tuesday, and the contract for March is already significantly higher, settling at $42.57 on Friday.5 Q2 N: Q: a7 g4 R9 m6 {
' O- X% ]3 q$ U. K7 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 n% C3 m$ O, x
% H4 y* l/ A8 R R' qHirsch 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.
/ p9 {/ L7 t: f3 q6 k, w) e3 a
( p' C# r1 b4 j) p. \, X"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said.
6 e; E1 V% x- w2 k4 H, P8 r2 `: \$ D& x! j) t. ^
"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 a" r4 v9 e' `+ ^' E# H% h% I" ~; W- C; x/ A* E
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.
8 v& a l1 N" X, Y, k5 b
+ H6 a4 y1 _$ @9 [5 g0 p8 ~' j- T"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.
# `& j3 Y% S0 B) w1 _
3 N1 Y! L0 W: T# l3 Y8 ]"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." |
|