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Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?% }- z! `& H- c: p9 G2 W& a
Published: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET
6 ^/ F, I) _) Y' R- Q) Q* _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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0 d; O9 x6 d7 aThe 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. g& _0 c( X! j- ~
! g Q% z$ u4 j# E' c. ]Calgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.
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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.
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# l6 ~) D4 G2 ZBut Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer. H% q$ B' U* ?1 u+ H0 h0 }
0 `. k0 X! }0 W: T"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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8 w7 e* O- ]9 u D+ O/ e"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."
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& [+ p$ o3 n4 K0 \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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- T3 F/ N, C; n N0 l' q3 p" Q$ tVancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago.& ]: Z( m$ Z/ A& c1 v; U
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The price of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has been dropping steeply since it's peak of $147 reached in July.7 T9 \2 g4 j3 E+ N1 |3 z
5 N9 [$ I" M- k$ ^7 @2 {/ t. Z4 pThe February contract for crude oil settled at US$36.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from more than US$50 a barrel a week ago.
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) S" @% t8 }5 q8 J' T9 {"Crude oil is an important input into the distillation of gasoline. But there's a lot of other factors as well," said Todd Hirsch, senior economist with ATB Financial in Calgary.2 c3 \; z0 p+ _- Z. G( B" Z5 V
- y5 }, b( r( t2 x8 o+ iIndustry players would say they have to account for transportation, marketing and other expenses - not to mention taxes, which vary from province to province.
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But those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit.+ j+ \3 m* D- i* p9 Y0 b
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"Without question those gasoline prices are going to be the highest they think they can get away with without their competitor undercutting them," said Hirsch. V6 d0 x1 p2 c$ m' k5 M0 T5 O
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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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6 }! y/ M8 t) A9 M' |! p; z2 O8 yAnother explanation could be that the February contract for crude oil expires on Tuesday, and the contract for March is already significantly higher, settling at $42.57 on Friday.( h' z1 ]* |0 p4 j n- ]
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"(The oil companies) might have realized that while prices were low in the last couple of weeks, they knew that there was going to be a correction," Hirsch said.
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' L: E& f9 R% ^. F' m6 }Hirsch expects pump prices to bounce between 60 and 90 cents per litre over the next few months, but not retesting the heights of last summer.6 X2 S. I: H" F( a& W) j$ V
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"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said., t/ T$ U, _& o+ n" a6 D
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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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4 \$ _$ H! e8 T6 DBut 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.$ D" o7 ?* J5 q* e) H2 @3 O; G, c
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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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"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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