 鲜花( 98)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?
. M6 \* U5 m" `Published: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET
4 |4 K5 r1 ~0 }Canadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine
" @1 D' v% I/ X2 _9 s0 m% W' h
9 V" k0 O- s) T3 }0 ?3 P) O( DCALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.0 {5 ~) Z# d& L4 z, A
& |0 H' @4 \* hThe 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.9 j. {1 [- m7 q( Z. ~7 ]
9 X) w% @$ ?' }( I: YCalgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.9 `$ _- [% s/ X# d* ~# W! v- n
, ^! |: s% t7 A4 K& Z% P
"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 d0 W( ]9 j Q7 I/ Z% H/ k9 Y% f& ~& F. |" e' ^- D! M' N! z
But Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer.
+ V2 f! h8 V' X2 {- N7 i+ A7 ]! n$ N: S* q& [/ }( G C& }
"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.+ L9 ]" M% L q2 O3 R
/ T; Q3 m7 u8 X4 C"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 y/ a4 @8 m1 S% n0 B
, M: h" }! p: `* Q+ }- `* X$ KIn Toronto Friday, pump prices were 80.9 cents per litre. On Thursday they were 79.4 and a week ago they were 74.2.
6 T9 U5 g- j4 ]7 L% I; D+ Y; s+ D# m; ~# w+ X
Vancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago.
7 I) p$ `* a# U+ Q J5 q) q
% n p: p2 ?0 D( B$ v5 F, _The price of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has been dropping steeply since it's peak of $147 reached in July.
- E0 r! U: c n2 }4 I8 [/ W L: I& G+ K2 w
The February contract for crude oil settled at US$36.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from more than US$50 a barrel a week ago.
6 F9 W# W7 m& G4 V0 f# h. ^# l: _1 L' V) N7 }& P. c
"Crude oil is an important input into the distillation of gasoline. But there's a lot of other factors as well," said Todd Hirsch, senior economist with ATB Financial in Calgary.
+ M! [3 u$ K) J/ d/ j X# [" B+ @+ O9 l. W" }( X3 ~4 z9 I( ^
Industry players would say they have to account for transportation, marketing and other expenses - not to mention taxes, which vary from province to province.
% t; X: P0 g# U" ^& @( `: C
9 o' e+ }3 a6 r$ ~But those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit. ~# m" } Z1 ~: _: P. t
) M' b/ Z0 j( ]. S: j5 b N
"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.) i# t/ S& h1 r* [$ ~6 b& p- m# L; P
* O1 r( P8 Q/ B6 O8 G"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."
3 E% @% ?* J, X- Y5 l
' V0 D1 x' D' J# L- ~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 $42.57 on Friday.+ I1 a3 v1 q, ?; t: {5 }# `4 d0 Z+ T& N
" i7 { | q4 V* `0 t
"(The oil companies) might have realized that while prices were low in the last couple of weeks, they knew that there was going to be a correction," Hirsch said.$ ~3 h- G" Z9 ^# U
8 K& n! e8 A$ ]9 [" L
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.$ W, N5 t+ a6 j' O8 G4 h4 U
" s9 `0 h% i( l* s& u+ o- x"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said.7 }/ I6 J# M3 p
4 b! O0 ^5 ~0 J+ c$ M
"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."
) G; F# A( H% J D, @$ b; w# J& ~2 r* Y G5 e! }+ ]4 P; J
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." ?0 Z8 ?/ G- s% @4 _
4 ?- w/ H. k2 W
"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.
, ^* d2 R/ o' _1 e7 {; t9 Z4 n" o5 g. |0 `( H) V3 J5 j
"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
