 鲜花( 98)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?
3 G% Q( K" [9 a# A8 k1 nPublished: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET1 }7 W, \! X& i3 ^/ I$ j0 G
Canadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine
) p; e0 s" h. X
; W5 {7 l* l5 Z3 _/ \( eCALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.
5 X. q& @2 R# V+ p" E4 Z: n
* K0 e! v* `9 iThe 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.
5 I, |& W+ q4 @8 P0 o, ?9 P! w; ]) ^( V/ \8 L
Calgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.
- _+ K) K7 ?9 J' r C+ p: {# L7 O+ q A9 L) O/ A
"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.; L% F$ [0 a5 g6 \$ H
0 J3 o* x d7 f U2 D# X
But Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer.- p! @; ]: M% A0 R% c
" N5 p$ u9 G; P; F. Y6 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.8 `. I$ f/ l# w; I4 T" _
; A8 G& d/ G# M 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."" N4 s& }/ x* Z: K' ?4 f
: K# i1 z% |$ X( v! G
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.
+ T0 G: W* z% G! }; K
5 I) u k$ p/ e+ q. lVancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago.6 R/ n/ A0 L( r& C2 \1 Q. `1 ]
* b" j' _7 |2 r Q3 } W( W
The price of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has been dropping steeply since it's peak of $147 reached in July./ b6 `6 ]- ]9 _. T$ ^4 K6 A5 S
6 @; \5 L' l$ a* ]! q/ R4 K+ N9 ^The February contract for crude oil settled at US$36.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from more than US$50 a barrel a week ago./ W; |: ?, Z) g7 l `! W
+ S2 c* {( {/ B$ x* r"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.
, x# ^: |1 T1 q$ j! L* r
, ?9 o: \: `' }0 A0 y2 q, MIndustry players would say they have to account for transportation, marketing and other expenses - not to mention taxes, which vary from province to province.
1 a. L& W! I9 [; {
) T$ z2 i# L. i0 sBut those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit.
6 v! V9 r, T' _" x" ~% d8 |: e8 O" ] L. t0 _, t8 x' l! x2 N
"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.6 H" H& y& r0 J
$ F1 \- [& ^. B# F: K"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."
$ u5 Q* o. z; y6 g$ c' ]" T6 _1 m2 U4 P( Z" y4 D
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 $42.57 on Friday.
7 z r! e7 [! P) A+ \
9 C$ t# b% z1 ?"(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.
; y6 W" v5 L. g4 J s( E1 u) u
]% [4 f( o5 d3 G# XHirsch 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.) b% E. m4 u7 R( A* i( X# X+ N* g$ i
- o4 X* C2 D' b$ a5 T2 |"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said.' g7 h3 r. X/ m: @- J2 O
; C: [1 T& f: c; A
"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."% }6 m& H+ k7 {* n" Q% N
# I4 E! L) s# x* 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.
; g$ S6 I: |" H
$ L. T7 K2 C) ]7 {"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.! r( Z- n K/ c2 Y& [: m
( z- }2 Y- \2 ~2 u+ ~"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." |
|