 鲜花( 98)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?
! ~1 S" h7 P5 x" s! D$ qPublished: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET+ x* r5 X, o4 \1 q1 [* Y: d; g( y
Canadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine1 a! M( ]8 H/ W; Z
' H6 [- y: M& a, ]0 s! y# |CALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.9 t4 ?8 _* ?7 p) M# w h4 Z6 [" |
; E m5 q# ^& Y' t. Z8 X0 A0 U* ]& sThe 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.
$ y! @. ~% p% E* h) O* u5 f/ i) ]
Calgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.
+ n8 Y8 ^/ d5 f) P+ G: {) f# l; _$ ^# d0 B) D* ~
"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.
( z! }) W& T7 D, E& S4 U2 F( W" o. q! e% t
But Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer.
9 p+ x4 B7 l3 q( {9 T8 d4 O* Y+ ]) R, @, ]% e& m) q/ S1 ~% Y4 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.
/ y/ @8 a7 ~9 P! V6 x; R+ F4 w+ R
# D/ W6 Y; U9 R9 o"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 k9 t: ~; g( _* c4 e* e K
4 @( f8 I8 Y/ |6 Z' M EIn Toronto Friday, pump prices were 80.9 cents per litre. On Thursday they were 79.4 and a week ago they were 74.2.
( i- T5 A) ]+ [1 _' U% p: f3 l9 D/ E/ F" m6 \& \& V" a
Vancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago.% T0 H5 p4 D2 s. _! Y
1 ^/ N6 D& N7 u6 I8 hThe price of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has been dropping steeply since it's peak of $147 reached in July.& r5 `, p/ J& ~' `: j3 a3 L9 g2 }
/ @, l, k) ?& O' A, C. tThe 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/ r) \; K o' k6 I: Q; P
$ ?; r1 r- P l8 l"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.
0 k0 B; x, k+ P2 Y8 a2 H# ^2 r9 _' d. |' j2 A Q l, r ~& A3 @- X
Industry players would say they have to account for transportation, marketing and other expenses - not to mention taxes, which vary from province to province.- @( t1 g: b+ r1 i/ E. S
# m6 I/ U. H7 i
But those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit.
2 u9 _- w$ `( f! E& Q! @6 t Q0 [0 W+ F1 X+ W4 Q' J+ z
"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.- i3 L$ w8 j# x+ ~: ^5 J
3 ~5 @# G# e1 P1 v% @9 k) R"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."8 a% j+ `4 S$ ~) G' j
+ ?% R. B! H4 r( M% WAnother explanation could be that the February contract for crude oil expires on Tuesday, and the contract for March is already significantly higher, settling at $42.57 on Friday.
3 _! f' x1 {" E
1 z; x9 ?$ o4 V/ ~3 Q0 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.5 g: V7 a; y! `9 S5 e- A3 N" e( ^
5 r: z: z7 h( q; S
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.
3 x: E' N7 c# A& a- F7 ]0 \/ p
- M8 \7 D' ~5 F4 W, o6 Z8 }% @"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said./ E# p3 F" p! I0 F$ L
( A1 M+ n! o: ^7 \& C
"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."
) ~$ n6 u3 y- K8 M" L, w5 v# k3 z B x$ M1 r% `8 q: i( g0 y6 A
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.
3 z! I9 @; F# E& L& K9 j% t# Y9 z
"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.) p1 A) S$ d# F# t" l
; C. A- J# Z$ _1 f6 O& C"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." |
|