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Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?! F. s) ]' Q: |5 y7 a0 Z
Published: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET
* [( Z; C% m. O! j4 _; V( uCanadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine" M, e0 @9 g7 d" O
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CALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.8 j, i& [* r7 ^
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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.$ C; T7 _3 {2 `$ W Y4 z
1 {% P9 j# \1 T5 nCalgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.5 d7 M, o) s; Y* V- \; E, g1 u$ e/ {
1 O- a! n- ? z' P& i+ 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.. o. n& `. ~! A
, D2 ?, ~$ O$ d7 u4 ]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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' x: \6 K/ e. `% M"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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0 e# h5 V1 b5 w8 P2 }% a. X"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."4 s7 ]( d! u' O% M
+ x3 M9 o. Z; d+ D- p! jIn Toronto Friday, pump prices were 80.9 cents per litre. On Thursday they were 79.4 and a week ago they were 74.2.% t+ y. e; G# Q0 z0 T6 _
/ E# u% R0 t+ Z4 t, |9 K' E! S% JVancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago.
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The 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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: B# l8 f, c& B/ n5 EThe February contract for crude oil settled at US$36.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from more than US$50 a barrel a week ago.
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- j( S$ R- c3 B) V3 b* @"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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But those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit.
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( n7 Y |1 _, z+ Q! [ }4 [ C"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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! B9 I: X$ f d) z6 C# r, I"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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. k3 L( H9 J T* o. j; OAnother explanation could be that the February contract for crude oil expires on Tuesday, and the contract for March is already significantly higher, settling at $42.57 on Friday." H5 v; L$ K7 M" v
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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.
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! v: b( I% E% P3 ~, A- H; hHirsch 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.7 o( z. c/ X: q+ \9 ?
/ w3 N6 y: t" E" B3 R( E/ {$ n"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said.
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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."3 @3 a" m( C- b: ~+ M9 s1 h
* z: W& A) Z& G2 |' [" _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.; g/ l, x/ T- g, {. T3 v
) ^; Y, m7 i* ~/ a"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.1 Q/ |$ h0 a8 F0 b6 |3 h
6 z8 f% S1 ?9 [! N8 Y. E2 ]"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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