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Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?
6 B9 c$ H) L$ A5 ?' NPublished: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET8 Z& A3 Z2 d7 r$ f) f1 v& @3 O1 f
Canadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine
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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.7 H8 T: h5 s: x+ T" B' O
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Calgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.3 J9 R, M+ j& l6 ^* a3 o& ~
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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.% ?: @7 i/ p/ E; G& P- C; K- a
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But Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer.
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' u6 y( S+ |; P* }) U"I definitely changed my habits in the summer. I was going to go on two road trips, which I did not go on by virtue of the fact that the prices were so high," Lawnikanis said.$ D* T: N- m4 p! t' m
) x p7 J- {& U" S- {"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 { D& L2 E' Q4 P2 m
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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.
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! C7 ]& b4 c: r! ]% A6 KVancouver, 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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9 g& N" {8 {3 Z. \5 u2 n NThe 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.* M( r; ?4 I+ [1 u7 d
2 \' Z/ R& i7 O9 g/ p& H. W"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.
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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.4 r6 D/ {% l8 S0 ?) m) U
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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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+ Q+ Y& ]8 S1 D+ b1 R"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.
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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."
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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 $42.57 on Friday.7 V: e C2 T% J7 V- T. l
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"(The oil companies) might have realized that while prices were low in the last couple of weeks, they knew that there was going to be a correction," Hirsch said.1 @$ j* I. V$ ~; w8 F7 W/ M$ a" H
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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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& Z9 n! V7 e+ A4 S"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said.1 y }9 k1 \' R- B" }% y
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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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; D. P6 _: ]6 e+ K! b# YBut 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.( _& a- x4 R' c- J2 S& y3 z
2 u/ b, R M" |' b+ x- c; H) w"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.$ Y# s8 H4 h. u0 f$ s6 S& K
+ {5 x Q/ l2 m: n# e( \- h, B$ x) E4 l"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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