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Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?" t1 S) Y Y! Z* X& a' l. b" L
Published: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET
b ?4 s6 g. ICanadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine9 S4 C/ ]7 g# f4 t# N
3 x6 z, ]# L8 ]3 PCALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.* a' s5 S2 ~4 Y7 D t
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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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1 u3 A1 @0 c$ ~% s6 TCalgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.
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* n5 D$ q' U) l2 m/ Q. |"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.; A0 F2 H+ X" H0 l; A( Z+ f9 M
7 I9 ^" {! K2 }. ?" [+ h2 Y8 b"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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, G1 a, h7 w; M; m7 e/ {"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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5 U/ h& K1 z2 ?2 o. `9 C# O3 pVancouver, 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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% V% C: u! q9 @3 `) j- vThe February contract for crude oil settled at US$36.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from more than US$50 a barrel a week ago.9 A" H4 F6 o, J3 N
% e; c2 [) p9 [: ]"Crude oil is an important input into the distillation of gasoline. But there's a lot of other factors as well," said Todd Hirsch, senior economist with ATB Financial in Calgary.+ c, F$ n% `# u. U6 f" {: X9 M
7 A$ f, i5 `) iIndustry players would say they have to account for transportation, marketing and other expenses - not to mention taxes, which vary from province to province.' } F7 w3 h- c8 _
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But those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit.9 j$ C6 y% }$ G A+ P/ ]/ a% |
( D" F, P: \ h G1 b"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.! K! ^/ t3 u& J& K7 s
5 D0 C, g/ u! u3 o" E+ i. L- F"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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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 $42.57 on Friday.
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"(The oil companies) might have realized that while prices were low in the last couple of weeks, they knew that there was going to be a correction," Hirsch said.& t) E* T4 D' R) F" D2 ^# T1 y
9 X" a! L: D$ v: I. \, e) \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.
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1 M# J' q/ H0 I( `2 {. G+ W"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."* o2 P4 G) D8 @9 l7 I
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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.6 c% m# C# t$ |6 O6 p. y! [6 ]4 W
, O% M6 p% t, T& N% {* w$ ?1 V"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.$ z& z7 k+ ^% `! g. r
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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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