 鲜花( 98)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?
6 m( L8 c5 {0 `" p N% ]Published: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET
3 s1 j. S/ }4 e% e( Z* {$ HCanadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine1 F; S8 w' J# v: w
i4 b4 L. P1 w% ` g% ~
CALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.0 O& X% p9 z4 V1 [' U/ S* H$ `9 h5 p, I
/ ~( i* Z0 Y0 }/ K8 |
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.9 t6 q* e, `, v, j; m/ Y
$ v# H, Q+ a9 j% n* ?5 s" {Calgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.
5 F2 @7 v8 J7 y( f. T& i/ |1 U' |2 x8 n9 {
"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.
) D0 o, n* G" v# [' u+ S$ R) r
: d. [. J# ~0 ]6 o6 K# h$ ~But Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer.
$ | e" }' @6 v) j+ G- R$ V4 n
( N% N/ K# z c6 G+ u# b"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.) L2 E0 y6 m8 P5 Z8 A. A: K
3 V" a% x; g/ t7 ?5 K
"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."( |8 x+ R; P8 Q) u9 r! ?( K
) W' L- @3 b& E2 b5 ]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." ?# }5 b# o$ G0 e
a& H1 F+ z/ `1 ?% ]6 x) P7 ]Vancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago./ j; R/ k7 j5 h- y6 N; }
! W% F; a' f L5 f4 w3 P' S
The price of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has been dropping steeply since it's peak of $147 reached in July.
& S" L& [" j3 p. u- S1 H
9 P4 m. K0 H8 J) R8 W( ^; |) SThe February contract for crude oil settled at US$36.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from more than US$50 a barrel a week ago.* @ ?1 m# n+ {1 g# l# T
9 @' l% Y! t1 ~: `9 O2 v \0 s; \"Crude oil is an important input into the distillation of gasoline. But there's a lot of other factors as well," said Todd Hirsch, senior economist with ATB Financial in Calgary.1 T& B+ X# _) F+ r+ F0 v! J* f9 v- N
/ ^1 \2 @, w# u7 n( qIndustry players would say they have to account for transportation, marketing and other expenses - not to mention taxes, which vary from province to province.) u, U' n( f$ [
% i8 ~7 l; n, }8 J& w4 g3 D
But those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit.& j6 b2 @5 V0 v6 P( p- ^0 s
, a, U ~) Q q5 b# P; a"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., T; K( w% I, l& O2 L
. u+ N" g( j, O' `- C
"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."
9 j: o" @2 H1 V0 T7 |& |' i6 l) n3 ~
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 $42.57 on Friday.
5 n% j s- G/ k2 l
6 @* ?/ b* j% ^: x- {"(The oil companies) might have realized that while prices were low in the last couple of weeks, they knew that there was going to be a correction," Hirsch said.
& N A' P2 u. C2 ?* ~0 H
, u- o" u1 @/ v! c1 M6 d% O* XHirsch expects pump prices to bounce between 60 and 90 cents per litre over the next few months, but not retesting the heights of last summer.
& x. ~+ R9 R' X2 ?" l; ~& i& h" A, t' X
"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said.
7 p3 X% k/ v6 q4 v$ O/ @2 n8 U: O& j2 D+ p
"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."
3 |0 ~# c! Z5 L7 Y h$ W# a- C- @* T
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.: R6 [" Q6 Z: w) e* ~- P; _$ w! s' L
. ^: k5 x4 c" _6 Q- y% S" t' ^( R' 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.5 }: o+ k: D" U) }
% C( o0 X, g9 ?) r"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." |
|