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Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?
$ E. D, x0 Q! WPublished: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET
8 n: v. F6 Z+ C9 w) i6 l9 H- RCanadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine* h3 f2 Q$ p& l, U
- Z8 u6 R. @, f/ H7 [2 tCALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.# J& J, K' Z# P: x- L5 a. W m5 }
/ L0 a6 }0 Y) O4 \6 {1 jThe 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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Calgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.) m! F% c. a) T5 [2 ]( Q% o: o
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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.5 \, t- a5 U; q: z. R% f: P4 c# E
0 b. u6 C. ^) _" n" rBut Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer.: p2 B1 ]0 H8 F" \' x1 s/ ]; e
% u1 j" I4 }2 E# f# h( H0 B$ H) l"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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1 {+ v/ g! e/ e+ w. a"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."0 V, c; Q c9 p8 z
x9 p* J7 z; w$ M) ZIn Toronto Friday, pump prices were 80.9 cents per litre. On Thursday they were 79.4 and a week ago they were 74.2.( E( \- L' c1 Q. }
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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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: m" P. A$ x' T @) L4 `! |: GThe 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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4 m8 m, R5 O" F3 K% A1 T1 mThe February contract for crude oil settled at US$36.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from more than US$50 a barrel a week ago.
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1 @! E8 @& y* p( q$ b/ 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.9 S3 l9 Z3 r2 ~
4 Y( X; K# ^4 E7 zIndustry 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.5 r) B) t6 }0 u1 O8 B. s/ K
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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.
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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."! `8 w0 y- z$ F! y) t: t
" S z2 u) [9 M% d3 b. j7 y3 d2 tAnother explanation could be that the February contract for crude oil expires on Tuesday, and the contract for March is already significantly higher, settling at $42.57 on Friday.0 t& j* {) y* }& m( B( k
' r+ I# ^* E0 l( Y& o, H$ I, Y"(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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7 u4 i$ m: }% m$ ]5 m3 @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.' ^, G6 p; c3 \1 ^+ H) g
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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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"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."" x8 L% H; q4 a7 x$ z8 I
7 v) K3 t8 N$ l( N# \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.3 m7 ?! |' F# d0 G% i
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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.! e- a* } k% E. K' y2 ?$ ]- L
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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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