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Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?: u+ ]% g- e$ v2 `
Published: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET% ]% w$ ^2 k$ _: K2 {% W
Canadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine! n _5 L7 c# r" f; I" p! t
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CALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.
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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.
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2 j* Q6 c; n9 r3 c a5 L4 p- B0 LCalgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.
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( w, f) K- q) e1 B/ v"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.2 |. J: [9 d% ?/ Z% b
. `0 Z2 J" m( P( J+ v4 @But Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer.0 t1 B7 | i$ g; a9 d, M# f Q$ y. n
% c3 J2 p+ O- U8 w/ p5 U! D/ J" i"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. S P. a; y! e- @- o2 `& ?
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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."; @9 ]7 A9 R+ `8 Z( ]
2 p3 y3 s; `7 f/ ~4 VIn 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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) `1 E, \2 a: ?. V! l9 ^* T9 i, i" \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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The 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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, \3 j* J* n0 w) L4 M1 n6 T9 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.9 H8 l+ l. @* E, @; M
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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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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.7 \; |, U" Q) r4 U# R
( A% o: ^ Y3 z! I. D& 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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1 x. d" I5 p8 D7 rAnother explanation could be that the February contract for crude oil expires on Tuesday, and the contract for March is already significantly higher, settling at $42.57 on Friday.; ?3 }# @' E3 T3 U3 M8 v
{5 D+ ?/ _! F9 d- W. N, g. ~0 n6 k"(The oil companies) might have realized that while prices were low in the last couple of weeks, they knew that there was going to be a correction," Hirsch said.$ w4 _) Y6 v& |# V/ C5 }/ m; v* ]- P/ v
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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.
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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."
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/ n- {0 x- B/ P, v7 l, ?) \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.# o5 G6 k# @% X D2 W2 k
0 h* }$ Z! q7 B/ {+ `"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& B6 H/ V4 c. e$ O" C8 g
5 ~6 [: G0 k& X3 |1 N8 ], { E"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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