 鲜花( 98)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?
; B7 r w6 Q. z0 D+ q& w6 [% V3 a! J$ PPublished: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET
3 C, y" h6 @1 R: j5 fCanadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine5 z) A1 `: j' ]
4 f% @; F7 t9 {' _8 S
CALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.7 C7 G7 Y0 `; w$ n+ t
9 [* l2 _* }$ |- s6 A P2 ^
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.
& B4 D6 e) j" }; Y3 @0 K [, Y/ _. V8 U, \3 m" }# e
Calgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.- p# h |9 R2 l# d
, W8 j- a) e4 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.
) }2 M( u% J* L* u3 N, \' Y) j5 t3 r6 B# L7 H3 j' L3 J
But Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer.
1 G1 H- n8 _7 f, s6 O d9 s$ T
% ^5 a# V/ R+ C) ]% g6 O"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.
' x9 e& Y9 K2 J5 B0 L
2 E# M+ S7 R, V6 f: A"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."' r- K# q% n7 @9 t; {
" s$ T7 x8 [: O: F ?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 i! `- }2 @! M" }: C$ @+ c" T/ [7 V) Z( i3 j" L7 c/ [4 v
Vancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago.
) I+ F7 i- W+ B# P3 ?. \9 ]1 w. T4 S8 w% c
The price of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has been dropping steeply since it's peak of $147 reached in July.6 u1 {/ b! c% E4 U& @. K
4 |" n$ I* c' x. M
The February contract for crude oil settled at US$36.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from more than US$50 a barrel a week ago.
# [; n* i# v) k4 {7 ?" H
* }% D, I0 a/ g/ l+ P) F"Crude oil is an important input into the distillation of gasoline. But there's a lot of other factors as well," said Todd Hirsch, senior economist with ATB Financial in Calgary.4 h( V5 C% _) @5 ~0 c4 f
! a+ x: J1 t6 h4 _6 v
Industry players would say they have to account for transportation, marketing and other expenses - not to mention taxes, which vary from province to province.
; f% s1 C0 E: w/ E; g* ?, U( T* m6 h/ G! g3 T8 H: ?
But those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit.
5 r M7 H0 `1 _7 n1 T& r4 r+ E3 I& v+ x
"Without question those gasoline prices are going to be the highest they think they can get away with without their competitor undercutting them," said Hirsch.
/ X5 G7 R% B0 K- ]2 E( x' P' I$ N4 e3 X% a" C- ?3 L+ T( B
"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."
3 T5 T0 T: q( ^3 M0 y/ }8 T' x7 D7 p, D- c; b% T
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.
% \4 Z& J/ j7 d9 a9 y8 q5 j c) F
"(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.
" c. G* i% d2 Y7 J+ T7 K3 `7 ]) T
$ p3 E! g, o; ?; K$ c \' IHirsch 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 b# P2 w) {6 j8 R/ H6 A$ l+ x! [" ]4 L
"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said.
7 X, I7 ]6 O) r7 j- M) b( ^1 t4 t- G% H6 l% Z9 B Z2 F" 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."
% F( Y0 g9 F/ `
$ D0 Z: x6 J( B; V1 e" gBut 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. r& _: m$ K5 A X6 ~1 p& g. H& A
/ ]$ ^2 S7 y. i& r
"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.' V( T) j) W# r5 \ X( X: L
- ?& k8 q9 o5 |
"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." |
|