 鲜花( 98)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?% i' x0 O' O& ^% l' g3 f F" P
Published: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET4 ^8 U/ [- `5 }; g# v2 k+ q
Canadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine# L. r- u; c" A0 ` W2 d: c6 ?
& |, v* T G0 ~7 [7 uCALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.
) |, w* w- a+ [. n+ |6 d, m# v' @' @, |/ 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., x4 V9 L8 T1 Y7 ^& B% F: _
8 \( V; y) P9 e2 w1 X4 w" uCalgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.8 @8 b3 A! p/ G5 ^+ b4 K+ H
1 Z$ X* T1 i: `& o% m. R- R, U# K* 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.! p2 z6 E! h; X1 V+ |: }# r
1 Y# w: {4 U: N) H
But Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer.
2 B: ]/ r! p$ r$ v$ ]% _: w; H0 q3 `5 x
"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.
5 C3 b8 G. t- x: n/ W4 w
6 e! X2 s: t0 F \9 t( ]' X"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."# q4 }( O* H+ I" e; M6 e6 s- P
$ ~% } U$ E# C* }
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.
0 P/ r6 k& ^5 Q: L/ k; C, D9 {& c, c5 e
Vancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago.
1 Z( C/ {' [& H, a
! i- Q& A. k5 f% nThe price of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has been dropping steeply since it's peak of $147 reached in July./ l* }/ ]; s6 Z8 u w
3 f* i9 y+ Z8 L; G4 r7 _The February contract for crude oil settled at US$36.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from more than US$50 a barrel a week ago.
, m8 F7 J* q4 g# f* u4 v: m2 d9 R
"Crude oil is an important input into the distillation of gasoline. But there's a lot of other factors as well," said Todd Hirsch, senior economist with ATB Financial in Calgary.2 z) l6 h/ ` K
, `' `. S2 x" t" u- B- J
Industry players would say they have to account for transportation, marketing and other expenses - not to mention taxes, which vary from province to province.
) Z/ X8 o% o0 {, _- P7 p; ?9 B+ ]. O5 S: X. c. F
But those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit.8 Y! s0 D& ^. ^" s$ ^: P) V6 |4 I
# N( l$ U" y0 a: K# y& t2 c
"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.
2 [3 v; y1 E+ }
& q" \: ^+ V% E9 k* u/ D8 X"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."5 C6 f; g- w5 {1 l! ^+ A5 ^/ |
' [% s: n- s* q3 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./ C& p3 n. e" s* I9 K
, N, }, {4 o5 X, J# ?/ R. [5 j" a; G"(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.
/ k" W3 a. x) g5 q; K
6 J8 Q& c1 H! q" p- F {6 e' \- sHirsch 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.
4 m1 F2 C) l; S( j4 Z9 ^! U
a( W1 R' ^1 M: x"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said.
" r+ ` z& @* }7 z5 s% _
) Y% b/ T: ?1 {* }/ y4 k: L"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."
# K) u+ S0 z/ E. O; U# C0 k: a( W+ m9 S7 _ M
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.
! g8 Q6 z" g: [0 M( {. k% t6 l t2 H( {! h6 R
"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.
. R9 U2 s1 ^7 n( }7 P" @2 T: g- O% R/ R ?; A
"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." |
|