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Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?
/ H6 }7 _ x. }3 fPublished: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET
# _0 u' F, G3 K( D6 r6 `Canadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine
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- `8 {2 t: M$ x, i v, Y/ l' }CALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.* ~- s$ S `8 L" W0 e. S0 f$ ]
. f& a+ b! ]" ?0 v: P0 cThe 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." u. }& T; M- K+ Z
' y: ?& X0 g: K: |Calgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.+ c+ d7 v' H8 |' h: u6 D' y) p
9 J9 t' X' J9 _& M. R' G& `"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.' _2 H: H8 i7 i% a+ o2 T. B* C
- _8 E6 E' U' P) O/ ]; @9 cBut Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer.
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"I definitely changed my habits in the summer. I was going to go on two road trips, which I did not go on by virtue of the fact that the prices were so high," Lawnikanis said.
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4 i M; a. Y* P. I% G+ y"Because of the fact that the prices are so reasonable, I've actually taken the liberty to drive more. I've really enjoyed doing more driving."9 s6 B, D* r4 Z; n$ {
* F' g, V+ O7 n/ vIn Toronto Friday, pump prices were 80.9 cents per litre. On Thursday they were 79.4 and a week ago they were 74.2.. |' f( h# W4 S
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Vancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago.' F8 T* m' k+ b; {$ C- p: C
9 _ M# o" E# K" M/ u+ SThe price of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has been dropping steeply since it's peak of $147 reached in July.
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4 c" w) R3 {2 V; G7 A4 x4 N# x- o& jThe February contract for crude oil settled at US$36.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from more than US$50 a barrel a week ago.7 S$ m! n* o6 ^/ w
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"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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Industry 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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! f i& e, Y( H; X; aBut those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit.
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7 j0 Z5 P+ h9 w; H2 q. d$ x"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.
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"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.". |6 [; H2 s" A5 k- ^. M j, P& H ?
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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 $42.57 on Friday.
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"(The oil companies) might have realized that while prices were low in the last couple of weeks, they knew that there was going to be a correction," Hirsch said.& m. y$ I( w2 X q
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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.
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"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said. }( s _9 f( U/ U- Z$ X
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"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."
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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.7 j# b; X2 W& o$ Z
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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.5 y! s: h2 B" {5 y/ Q, o
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"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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