 鲜花( 98)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?
4 r7 d5 ^4 w- |5 k( s# h/ sPublished: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET. ]5 [% f8 W- o0 Y) H1 T" A& E! e
Canadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine
~: B* U2 `0 @6 J- z' o% L. o o9 Y: [* l8 i! D
CALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.
' S- x% [- }. p; Z' b; s- d
5 I g4 ^% ]) R2 rThe 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.
" n8 d+ j1 ?* ?& f. e- W" g$ [! k* Q9 r _- z% C( | }
Calgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.. m8 M* k5 H. m. B! J
" s. W) Y$ x: N" P5 G"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.
, e- g2 @% u2 b; F
+ X" M3 N) H! X l( S' hBut Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer.
# A& @8 s- d3 U' U
: l7 t3 I1 G8 E3 a9 Q' h Q"I definitely changed my habits in the summer. I was going to go on two road trips, which I did not go on by virtue of the fact that the prices were so high," Lawnikanis said.
+ X! E9 x) a) L& G8 C1 U) l% F0 [3 q+ y. a: w. D
"Because of the fact that the prices are so reasonable, I've actually taken the liberty to drive more. I've really enjoyed doing more driving."
# N1 w4 [* R- {. k
; e6 ?; w" P) u) X& u7 j% _0 SIn Toronto Friday, pump prices were 80.9 cents per litre. On Thursday they were 79.4 and a week ago they were 74.2.
! f& z" f+ b5 m% |, f0 N& [% q% C! Z, G) r! `5 K6 j, A) a
Vancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago.) i; l0 A8 @0 g% U& _
) Y9 I8 F$ {1 d+ C
The price of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has been dropping steeply since it's peak of $147 reached in July." u6 A+ k& m9 A3 s! o
+ w7 R- ?' @$ D# PThe February contract for crude oil settled at US$36.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from more than US$50 a barrel a week ago." `! K |4 e# h
7 o8 S" U+ S/ `$ G
"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.7 r9 X, b* p" C* T
4 O: c# I7 o% A9 A4 T4 Z
Industry players would say they have to account for transportation, marketing and other expenses - not to mention taxes, which vary from province to province./ j2 o9 S- q" a1 l, `
9 U5 r5 \" ?/ a! e% n7 {9 oBut those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit.' o- ]. `& u) d" i2 D& U" K1 Y
2 ^) G3 O7 ~* ]9 L; o/ I
"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 E2 _8 k5 S' u6 Y2 q) B( p- _, u* q- r
"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."
$ }& X$ R) p: }2 R e7 R) E! a: \! r, ?- N4 o2 L9 x
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.
* D* R+ Q5 b* K1 R# K3 e( `# m* p8 _ y3 \. T
"(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.
/ ~# R9 ^# B. R* D( c- W) H. ^( m# O% j- o: E! Y8 f
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, F! x, Z3 j m* X6 h! X: i% Y
# I3 M( T/ P' M3 P; C* t"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said.; n8 x y* @& a, g# q
+ |: t- @; B3 }. }' W+ E"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."4 J8 p! N3 u0 ~% u
- G q& F$ {9 t; M5 J$ h4 \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.8 s- X5 b8 A3 e# h8 g) v
1 |4 ~; f' o; E/ q/ ?
"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.
* P7 o* b" Q. O' G" y6 G7 F' L5 P' a8 N( V$ ]
"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
