 鲜花( 98)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?
3 C! K+ {* y8 Z& F% _Published: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET' O v9 s" t7 L2 o) f$ u9 C
Canadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine
0 o+ L! y- A' W* V, \; n; k$ |; H( D. s
CALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.
. o# e; v2 w @# q! \3 n y9 j2 M. I& l- C, Y( m. r
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.+ }6 A: w8 g5 w. O, h$ y
0 [. Y, n; K- N4 v
Calgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.; R1 g7 L) t) Y( r- |8 z* }7 I5 I# z
+ _2 K4 X7 h7 Z) P0 U
"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.$ ?1 z* d/ O3 p" E
# ]+ [/ [& f+ yBut Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer.
' Q# p% v) b6 D
. a3 J: U. h; ?( Q& f1 O"I definitely changed my habits in the summer. I was going to go on two road trips, which I did not go on by virtue of the fact that the prices were so high," Lawnikanis said.
! O* G* V9 f1 b
U# s; {( E- T6 E# T" p) c2 J"Because of the fact that the prices are so reasonable, I've actually taken the liberty to drive more. I've really enjoyed doing more driving.". P; K: Y x H
; N2 A6 y+ E; k6 k2 i
In Toronto Friday, pump prices were 80.9 cents per litre. On Thursday they were 79.4 and a week ago they were 74.2., l. z V( H+ l# |4 u b1 f6 ~) z
6 A5 V/ a8 \2 `/ X# CVancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago.
( ?$ G- s( I3 q: W6 _9 u4 j) l4 y: k4 K5 r
The price of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has been dropping steeply since it's peak of $147 reached in July.
3 T+ m7 q5 S/ ~# l
" t9 O/ D+ i9 C: AThe February contract for crude oil settled at US$36.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from more than US$50 a barrel a week ago.
( z: d: K! c; y) H% O4 T9 q5 D6 b: i) ?
"Crude oil is an important input into the distillation of gasoline. But there's a lot of other factors as well," said Todd Hirsch, senior economist with ATB Financial in Calgary.
/ p# Y* \/ X' L5 O( L8 \3 b- R/ k- b& Q1 a& e6 x6 T8 v5 z! Y* v
Industry players would say they have to account for transportation, marketing and other expenses - not to mention taxes, which vary from province to province.
7 c+ Z. v; c' u9 X. E+ N2 ]% V9 e$ ^. S9 d" \3 X# ~) Z
But those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit.
: a9 v1 o! i ^$ |$ p9 c8 U7 f' @2 q
7 W# U; W0 V9 C8 n T! ]"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.5 w, W8 x/ I) k G3 f9 a
" o' t1 u b3 l S+ j5 D$ y9 {"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."# n! K. n4 u5 f, c) Q
% }0 O" g' Y' J! 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.) I' x% g( i! ^! o- n( \
2 I& I, q( C6 q, l! K! O! a"(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.
( n. S& D- a8 Q, @, C' f- p
9 I: |+ l' i3 J4 @& u, ^0 fHirsch 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.+ n. I, Q& Z+ u
+ r! ]7 i& \( r) M$ [( o) z5 ?"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said.( n2 t' B2 h2 E6 G# a7 X6 U' x0 _
8 X- x' K; `9 J- i# m9 i6 r"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."0 c. I7 o. B* I/ R. p2 @
$ |9 G2 \0 K. [- {" T2 S) I0 p) n. v
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.
0 x- J/ R8 d8 R P
( ]& }' Z8 X# _( b; D% m"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.
) M8 `; n" Y9 a( c9 R, y3 a, l8 J2 {- V4 o4 H0 j8 G; `& L' M8 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." |
|
狗仔卡
发表于 2009-1-16 19:10
提升卡
置顶卡
沉默卡
喧嚣卡
变色卡
显身卡
