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Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?
. ^# I4 C0 W% \4 \8 v5 FPublished: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET) W6 r0 B# r6 C( i$ ?) ^
Canadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine C$ T: Q$ k* Y
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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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Calgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.
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6 y: m8 t, x) j; V2 S5 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.
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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.2 V& d* x u3 G8 X3 y7 @
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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."% ]8 L# m6 t: h/ d6 \ b
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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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. ]# j; U4 ?/ U/ k5 T# C4 S! O! j5 tVancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago.2 c8 v/ O m6 T) Z0 f
, b6 ]% h9 l! c5 u, ^, w& KThe 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$50 a barrel a week ago., Z. y. o Z! p7 r- |) S
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"Crude oil is an important input into the distillation of gasoline. But there's a lot of other factors as well," said Todd Hirsch, senior economist with ATB Financial in Calgary.
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9 Q/ |7 P# w3 Q/ rIndustry players would say they have to account for transportation, marketing and other expenses - not to mention taxes, which vary from province to province.
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( k; \* i% w% j" Z; M9 k$ xBut 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.: R; R; d* c+ T9 _5 j6 E
3 _9 z4 _+ Q/ ~# }( i0 P/ ]"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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/ U* w" D; A& D* s; ]& qAnother explanation could be that the February contract for crude oil expires on Tuesday, and the contract for March is already significantly higher, settling at $42.57 on Friday.
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! H% [' |& U; x: p% ]: h$ i"(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.- w9 V/ I* u g$ [, ~& c
8 P+ q& R# O& w; u5 [7 q7 `) b, THirsch 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.8 g {3 N* ]$ e1 H) G L* T, O
. J( [: U/ N2 g8 E9 X"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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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./ x% u1 M' p6 \- D! T: [# _- t' B
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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.
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S' E. V- u5 @"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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