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Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?
( p+ y5 _# x8 ?0 T* }; zPublished: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET
1 G& g" K& h' L" vCanadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine
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% @$ U! B6 W/ t1 ^3 {% qCALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.5 Q# e3 \3 L; F! d5 P3 z+ |2 s! Q4 a o
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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.
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/ i/ e& C: R1 q$ k3 H, ], XCalgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.
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* i8 W) ]/ C v) ^"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.
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But Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer.
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3 W8 t. {7 y6 _$ _. @7 G+ 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.2 \" |. R5 V; r. F% z3 [+ v! v
- P7 F7 C5 h2 G- z"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."
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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.
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7 x1 P7 Y$ M' D) w! dVancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago.( L* w. q& K) A g; r: F$ b; X
% O. n" s1 I8 E5 x! Z( tThe 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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( } T! r; I) G( M( p( kThe February contract for crude oil settled at US$36.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from more than US$50 a barrel a week ago.
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"Crude oil is an important input into the distillation of gasoline. But there's a lot of other factors as well," said Todd Hirsch, senior economist with ATB Financial in Calgary.9 T [" }4 _. n1 v7 N
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Industry players would say they have to account for transportation, marketing and other expenses - not to mention taxes, which vary from province to province.
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. f" ^6 p: [4 w' w \& g$ Q: G0 bBut those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit.$ x. v9 s7 u, O
! i/ x0 D% a* g"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." n" B$ C% m0 V, P9 y3 l7 q7 e/ v4 K
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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 $42.57 on Friday.) |, N6 {/ y- t. ]5 t; }# D& }
; }8 U" M$ t7 F/ n6 w; ?5 K {"(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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# q9 z" J3 J) x/ 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.- R f6 n2 T# I) u
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"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said.- g6 d) _% ?7 D; V
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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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2 b+ V6 w7 a" S' T2 cBut 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./ f' S1 C# a+ S$ t
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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.
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# x2 P. w9 [$ F/ X" m" v/ z"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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