 鲜花( 98)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?
7 p1 H2 b0 D A, zPublished: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET
4 r, K8 o& E8 b! K% E8 kCanadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine
: A9 x! S) {5 ~: \" w; ]; D1 M7 P% p9 J9 C& t
CALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.# w8 P. Q# r2 G( |4 ]/ A
2 K% K$ M: w4 O! d" k) {% h
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.
" I# Y" D# X" L. d: Y# z2 @( K( A9 H7 @
Calgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.
* C; D! V, C+ R9 U( a9 i y1 S1 o% B" n
"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.
7 u( c& |" f6 k
! E* e5 g+ W* v4 b2 I( KBut Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer." d5 H6 y- h& N8 ]8 x- N
' Z" h( H" y0 Z& K7 m8 i" Q"I definitely changed my habits in the summer. I was going to go on two road trips, which I did not go on by virtue of the fact that the prices were so high," Lawnikanis said.( d/ j7 Y: l; Q) p& q. E
6 X3 E" E' @6 V, Z+ B+ {"Because of the fact that the prices are so reasonable, I've actually taken the liberty to drive more. I've really enjoyed doing more driving."+ Q6 Y4 B" y b/ e: B) P1 |
: D3 a2 e% p6 s# r( \
In Toronto Friday, pump prices were 80.9 cents per litre. On Thursday they were 79.4 and a week ago they were 74.2.
3 _ T# {/ `; R! N# g
. n: g, O6 _; M' q# ZVancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago.
2 Y5 h9 Q+ y. o4 A$ r2 r9 \% [% b
The price of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has been dropping steeply since it's peak of $147 reached in July.! d w/ g( p8 M* Y3 z1 I, g2 U8 s
% K7 J. P) ~$ |. m2 E( q
The February contract for crude oil settled at US$36.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from more than US$50 a barrel a week ago.* c) \ X. M2 j3 x: r
: u0 q A( B6 f"Crude oil is an important input into the distillation of gasoline. But there's a lot of other factors as well," said Todd Hirsch, senior economist with ATB Financial in Calgary.; @2 b+ [" X4 J0 n' E) Y+ @( n2 N6 b
6 k }, m& [& M K1 @3 h
Industry players would say they have to account for transportation, marketing and other expenses - not to mention taxes, which vary from province to province./ r) `; W1 _' n& `
" h% c6 I7 A: Q$ z4 |7 yBut those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit.
8 r4 Y7 G% L+ @* P; b6 z% \
2 q0 s3 E8 N2 _7 j9 t"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.! W9 q& r/ c7 U4 z; q" }5 ?- c' k
+ B) @+ a* E+ @ q"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 x" f9 u5 K3 z- ^
$ k% x5 C; N G; n3 G0 e- A' EAnother explanation could be that the February contract for crude oil expires on Tuesday, and the contract for March is already significantly higher, settling at $42.57 on Friday.
* t3 X# `6 W1 N) ?+ ~% T
( V3 k/ {: t% l6 o"(The oil companies) might have realized that while prices were low in the last couple of weeks, they knew that there was going to be a correction," Hirsch said.+ W( A! i6 Y$ _: X! N W: ~' q) \
- V& [2 Q! R" |" [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." W4 a5 _# `, o4 n! c- N* n. d( N
+ W+ v( ^4 Q6 |9 |9 z8 d4 ["I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said.
4 R. P/ k8 b: y, u. @7 E
7 z6 Y3 U6 }% x+ |" r1 B"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."4 D) Q* ~) |" n& m" }
) f& {8 Q6 Y4 c& M0 |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.$ S6 D% j2 _. U8 H: _' S
6 J6 o1 o$ Y. c; M% i; D
"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." |7 D4 X& j! E* |9 q2 R1 d1 L' A
0 g4 w, j3 K! A7 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." |
|