 鲜花( 98)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?- G) ~9 h6 Q7 s1 ~2 j5 b8 T+ w, A
Published: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET
- c' v! O3 A7 r' P5 dCanadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine
1 b6 }4 r7 Q6 a( Y ~+ X, D7 A4 ~4 H& o9 X
CALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.
( }$ d: j; n, G$ L9 _- D
: F |4 o) N% g! k* x! `0 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.
. M+ W5 Y, W' K/ P
6 b* t5 N) ~5 Q# h/ x2 XCalgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.+ n( V' O% R4 a+ j1 R- F" i
2 S5 T2 }& A+ K( z"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.% c# s% p0 g4 }& ?% S) g8 w) J# M% e
0 m# s7 V, G' l% E/ O8 fBut Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer.1 U9 ?& _5 L5 T$ c+ D8 o: f
$ Y7 B$ C, A! }/ P7 W" d2 C5 A"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.4 c7 h# P* [1 x4 G* J3 }
8 q. {4 g) K4 Y! h) J"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."
! a# B' ?$ Z T; g3 r
1 _3 {1 s3 x4 X5 ^In Toronto Friday, pump prices were 80.9 cents per litre. On Thursday they were 79.4 and a week ago they were 74.2.9 R7 ^6 ]. Z3 A6 q. O c+ A! ~+ U, o. t
4 ]+ X. W8 q1 F9 U/ ^Vancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago.
. Z! S% y) i. q2 n# ^6 o
/ [9 w' M2 b1 U8 E2 j6 X' z5 LThe price of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has been dropping steeply since it's peak of $147 reached in July.
! j+ m# B& i" N
4 b# n; V r Y) _9 S" ?The February contract for crude oil settled at US$36.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from more than US$50 a barrel a week ago.
, O5 a" K$ i! I6 ]" e
' r7 X7 Y; G. Q# v+ k4 E) \5 o% M"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.
8 A" [* }" H5 Y3 z& V& b2 u/ z) `. H1 _! R
Industry players would say they have to account for transportation, marketing and other expenses - not to mention taxes, which vary from province to province.* r& q# W3 A; H. u1 n( W( B
) v6 A+ G6 ]0 v5 f
But those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit.
: l& ?/ O( s0 S! ^* }+ j3 F0 s$ _
$ I& q) _& r k3 p. Y"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.
+ n) A. m! x/ d' E
% D8 e% n A$ Q& J0 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."
0 ?/ I9 U5 O0 i
" T6 G1 ]' G) |; B# LAnother explanation could be that the February contract for crude oil expires on Tuesday, and the contract for March is already significantly higher, settling at $42.57 on Friday.
+ O* Q' W0 ~5 s
" q% C! G" h2 D0 d( e"(The oil companies) might have realized that while prices were low in the last couple of weeks, they knew that there was going to be a correction," Hirsch said.! S U# K% e* E( d# G, Q" ]) l
. v8 Y* k! _. q" t7 l" j; I$ T7 vHirsch 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.0 P% e6 p1 `* @; k a0 p
- D b( `+ ?% U' X5 Y; c) P* i4 t
"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said." T0 _) r {% [8 T" {) R& t
7 O( k; ~ Y3 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."
4 o7 `6 ]- s' G* K- @% \& l. r
* c& A, k# H' G. U, i6 R UBut 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.2 T8 k" k( `. C( N# X
; j9 f t* g3 ]6 E5 M+ n
"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.8 O1 G6 [ v' y$ ` B( @) k
' {! g1 ?' H/ i
"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." |
|