 鲜花( 98)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?& |- `! J& i9 p7 B, i
Published: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET, J( s6 Z6 ]' V/ F& `
Canadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine
. m/ ?9 w1 T' d) j* Y+ Y4 H4 ~& f7 l. u* \
CALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.
3 `2 l6 A8 \0 T6 q" D1 t; l/ J) Q9 }2 J) O
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.
- ~- k0 Y+ {& c( u Y# J+ u+ P2 Y6 d# d4 U/ I5 G0 h3 ] M
Calgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.
% r# @& l$ U* w! T/ \4 _
' `5 d' O6 z8 k"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.
/ ?, F- ~+ n% \
0 E* A2 m: ]0 z0 x' x. \7 b% lBut Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer.
6 w& F/ h& ]) n. l; I% T7 v8 D& C2 R
"I definitely changed my habits in the summer. I was going to go on two road trips, which I did not go on by virtue of the fact that the prices were so high," Lawnikanis said.
# G$ S- q7 b: b* ]! o% n
4 [ Z+ x n/ e& A5 [/ ^"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."
" x7 p* y1 }6 E, I1 ^
3 q3 p9 G6 d$ h A7 qIn Toronto Friday, pump prices were 80.9 cents per litre. On Thursday they were 79.4 and a week ago they were 74.2.
7 E8 O; T0 i# y: a' l3 E% ?0 }5 ~0 U/ n3 [- j( ~( o4 x! x2 A
Vancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago.: H7 n& j$ q. k4 ^& {$ x
2 T$ i# ^, q4 _; @8 w3 [
The price of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has been dropping steeply since it's peak of $147 reached in July./ I$ c/ ]: H3 l, z
( f1 @" _% k9 }, H M" {
The February contract for crude oil settled at US$36.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from more than US$50 a barrel a week ago.' E, i$ N/ Y: `8 _% I
$ g( u: f2 M; P' x( Y S1 D
"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.
/ `; D1 Z5 z1 ]* T$ W6 n5 i" ^$ r- D9 x/ C3 P# K9 S, 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.) G! U( B5 X: l$ d b0 e) x
% z" R" s2 }% ?( s) ~
But those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit.
0 o/ t: g3 T, c$ P5 U2 p$ Z7 t
7 s6 W+ R9 z8 X2 K6 b; e0 D"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.2 A- ~5 P* Z4 o! a7 N
) f# ~/ A) ~: I; E( J% 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."
/ Y: t, h( s4 O3 `8 m3 A" U ~7 h
! n' Y8 B& q3 K% l9 \6 IAnother explanation could be that the February contract for crude oil expires on Tuesday, and the contract for March is already significantly higher, settling at $42.57 on Friday.' x% r$ S) ]. X$ P! h3 m; U
0 x3 f4 |( Y* I& D: u"(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.
1 C9 I# B6 q. b0 M
7 {; S' E9 t5 M: I5 k Z T- EHirsch 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.
4 S2 ^( e8 ^* s0 v7 y8 [. F9 C( k$ a) u/ i0 ]/ Y" Q) x# [, k
"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said.9 {" ]6 z9 Z! J+ @) A+ g4 @1 C6 i
3 T6 O2 v6 E4 ~' [6 Z
"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."/ v" G4 k8 ]3 e: _1 V
) f: W V% F! O: @( l" S( [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.* V: H. B9 b, z, s
8 Z1 ?/ T8 P* J* V- k7 y7 Q+ v/ C
"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.
% t ?, a8 {$ S# O3 E$ ?4 c8 s8 j+ f/ }$ C
"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." |
|