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Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?: h; }- M% ?7 T) D; I8 h
Published: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET; j; q% F. R' q W% U; N1 e' o
Canadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine" b! g3 c3 T F4 W
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CALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.0 C3 `4 E0 O8 _( V
- a. K; N7 _, T$ xThe 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.7 ~& i+ k- [& J0 t
8 s8 t- C, F" \1 F! {Calgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.
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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.' d1 H+ V# z+ W
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But Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer.
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"I definitely changed my habits in the summer. I was going to go on two road trips, which I did not go on by virtue of the fact that the prices were so high," Lawnikanis said.
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"Because of the fact that the prices are so reasonable, I've actually taken the liberty to drive more. I've really enjoyed doing more driving."
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In Toronto Friday, pump prices were 80.9 cents per litre. On Thursday they were 79.4 and a week ago they were 74.2.) y" ~5 D. `1 V
8 i# U4 x6 O7 B/ {) WVancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago.
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9 s+ z T* q# @! g- O$ b6 SThe price of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has been dropping steeply since it's peak of $147 reached in July.! E; O& @+ H1 D% t/ G1 [. P4 Q
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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$50 a barrel a week ago.) q, V5 ^. i6 U6 `/ G
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"Crude oil is an important input into the distillation of gasoline. But there's a lot of other factors as well," said Todd Hirsch, senior economist with ATB Financial in Calgary.( [; E* U: P- y4 n* }& w3 z8 H* N
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Industry players would say they have to account for transportation, marketing and other expenses - not to mention taxes, which vary from province to province.
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) ]( W6 Y( Y4 |- L! u4 ?But those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit.6 |8 N% |- y" }: F3 D2 O( `4 K
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"Without question those gasoline prices are going to be the highest they think they can get away with without their competitor undercutting them," said Hirsch.& o9 ~! d0 g' b
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"They're out to maximize their profits for their shareholders. I don't think there's anything evil going on in them trying to get the highest price. Every retailer in the country does this.") t0 C$ Z9 S/ R2 V" x
2 Z( a; T Z- ^1 }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 $42.57 on Friday.
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"(The oil companies) might have realized that while prices were low in the last couple of weeks, they knew that there was going to be a correction," Hirsch said.
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Hirsch expects pump prices to bounce between 60 and 90 cents per litre over the next few months, but not retesting the heights of last summer.( w- Y$ c) E% M% Z& Z, b. P) R9 c
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"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said.1 g) w& V/ b7 _& u4 r
0 ~# P) [. n. [" p- o"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."
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2 p8 z& m* \2 y( p3 H" [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.) R4 E4 M& x' F( U; z- Y8 j
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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.9 c+ Z- ~* J: u7 a
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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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