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Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?7 s# j6 z- |! _$ v
Published: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET
* y8 b% x) J" C( A# M3 |, WCanadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine) j2 Y. B3 [0 T4 l( ]6 n
. W8 ^" A( A! FCALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.
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! e) z5 p' Z+ O# K ?7 M3 ^4 pThe 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.3 p3 w* W3 u! ~0 v; y! h0 C# `
0 I9 n3 z/ }' HCalgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.. K- U" a3 t. L% V0 Z* s" s
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"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.+ t8 H; e7 t1 G
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But Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer./ q1 U7 V; u4 B/ M! I/ x
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"I definitely changed my habits in the summer. I was going to go on two road trips, which I did not go on by virtue of the fact that the prices were so high," Lawnikanis said.4 X: A) I/ w, c/ [3 \' _$ f" C% b
1 V& e6 x+ S" l$ v5 J"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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; S5 V l! @1 Q/ }5 k8 h" @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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Vancouver, 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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4 V+ ~- L( ]) d- ?' N, W% V. H% N7 hThe 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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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.
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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.3 M w/ W. C( y, Q
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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.3 u2 n( V n4 T U* K% \9 t+ s
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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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"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./ G9 h! P5 A# a1 V1 @5 P
- p% m- a+ {2 b; Y6 @1 s P/ n"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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O) p3 K/ G0 n5 |" dAnother explanation could be that the February contract for crude oil expires on Tuesday, and the contract for March is already significantly higher, settling at $42.57 on Friday.
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" @ Y" q. T+ U7 `"(The oil companies) might have realized that while prices were low in the last couple of weeks, they knew that there was going to be a correction," Hirsch said.# v' |6 Q5 z$ _) B9 ^" y
5 k/ w+ C0 ~$ j' W* A% ~5 Y" q8 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.7 i" @0 U, }1 E4 D0 \# q% x
& `# }# x6 m. O3 A, L( _+ r; _"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said.- [1 n7 `9 j) A& Z7 l& M! _
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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."# i: E" T2 r/ J, g. C
: [/ _ W8 K. B' m9 j0 ^" HBut 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.: ?! Z) ~+ X2 P Y3 y5 L
- z. N" D+ u+ o/ M6 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.
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5 L1 f4 F3 q. D4 k# |9 F* m"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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