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Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?
5 m! I8 L# ^ x9 v( w$ WPublished: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET% s$ I+ I6 f: d; l; S+ e
Canadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine
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! S! m) w# q1 A) HCALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.% h! w3 |) ~% Y
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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.; {3 Q$ ]. ]: j0 [" b" w
0 N8 O, b: T) h0 ^) iCalgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.7 v2 L7 y* {1 Q& P& [0 h
2 p1 A5 `0 d! p% 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.! x% g' X* X1 M: R4 _8 e1 f
3 H% ]( H! M7 `) h* u6 P% }But Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer.
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"I definitely changed my habits in the summer. I was going to go on two road trips, which I did not go on by virtue of the fact that the prices were so high," Lawnikanis said.
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& X7 c; y; h9 g! p% c. g+ Y"Because of the fact that the prices are so reasonable, I've actually taken the liberty to drive more. I've really enjoyed doing more driving." g4 F& G! ]# ~) a" |
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In Toronto Friday, pump prices were 80.9 cents per litre. On Thursday they were 79.4 and a week ago they were 74.2.8 g7 h- v8 J/ A4 O$ c3 Y
/ J: `( | @3 J7 |2 d+ r* SVancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago.) J4 \$ E3 @: t* p! T7 c
( Q7 A& E/ r/ i8 f6 l3 d8 f7 dThe price of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has been dropping steeply since it's peak of $147 reached in July.- s: B' N% o* {' J6 b) z$ }
5 }# z1 j. Q5 `- @# j" 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.
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1 Q6 ]5 b, G; A; u) 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.
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9 J- ^: u. H, K: E y3 XIndustry players would say they have to account for transportation, marketing and other expenses - not to mention taxes, which vary from province to province.
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; j& ^! H8 v: \: |# wBut those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit.8 @* Y5 R' z+ H. |/ g" d& s
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"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.9 P" `5 x0 I/ V% |% g, Q
' y I7 \$ S* Z"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."
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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 $42.57 on Friday.9 ?9 F$ s/ j% `% B
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"(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.) g# ^8 W% C* d" P& d: [
+ A# g6 F7 F/ H) x( JHirsch 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.5 Y2 C/ b1 `' z
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"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said.
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. f J2 K o8 D6 o"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."+ k& q: T# A, q& V
6 A L# {: q7 s& QBut 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.
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"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.$ ^- u Z/ l) e" h3 s! J) f
* `* ]% x. y) L4 v& E4 ?"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." |
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发表于 2009-1-16 19:10
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