 鲜花( 98)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Gas prices are rising while crude prices are falling. What gives?7 {/ J+ c7 d3 m$ m0 t' N( t
Published: Friday, January 16, 2009 | 5:11 PM ET* x! l0 T! G5 b/ q: `7 W5 Z. y
Canadian Press NewsItem/NewsComponent/NewsLines/ByLine) q. t" C+ y h2 |
H3 X/ M3 Y. r3 \% WCALGARY - With crude oil prices falling, motorists may wonder why gasoline prices are heading in the other direction.
4 ?$ z. ]. w8 t" r- R4 I- R* X, N! K# b' G, j
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.! s2 r b; Y( m3 ~/ v# d! G$ c- f+ L
8 E; C, b }* @; V% G* n+ lCalgarians were paying on average 81.5 cents per litre - about a four-cent jump in just one day.
@0 Z5 z% x4 a: _( p# z7 C8 d; {' Y. a
"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.* t2 c( s" m7 j( v7 v( n
% O( _% j9 B' K- \
But Friday's price is still a welcome respite from the $1.40-level gas many Canadian cities faced during the summer.
4 J3 \9 L0 A2 V# b z) A7 t4 _
8 X8 u9 X# U4 C9 p& G* S4 V* C) ~"I definitely changed my habits in the summer. I was going to go on two road trips, which I did not go on by virtue of the fact that the prices were so high," Lawnikanis said.
0 g8 d" y5 V$ ~: S: w8 U/ F3 A2 @& S4 F) n6 U
"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."# C7 F0 b: i8 F% G* l4 ^; o5 r
]/ ]; g3 s$ M; j' y
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.* `8 x* w. t d! n9 g& A9 W. m
6 b4 ^* t3 B! L# z; ]Vancouver, which has higher gas taxes than other cities, has prices of 94.7 per litre, up from 87.5 a week ago.+ ]1 l- u( [ [) i; a# V( j+ @
. D9 q0 `& [8 P9 H3 V! k" s: JThe price of crude oil, the main ingredient in gasoline, has been dropping steeply since it's peak of $147 reached in July.& p# v9 O" i, e! G- [
6 } n {( c" k, V* j# n' e8 CThe February contract for crude oil settled at US$36.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from more than US$50 a barrel a week ago.* h# t) w7 C, ?$ N! i
7 f1 ~0 ]* ~1 L3 e! N
"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.
8 q) }/ Q& G2 K7 J, m$ W. p
( K* d- R- g% s: S! A' `2 \Industry players would say they have to account for transportation, marketing and other expenses - not to mention taxes, which vary from province to province.
2 c& m$ K( n6 W# h* p0 u" J" n, G& x1 U$ p$ s: i* H
But those oil companies - private-sector players in a free-market system - also want to turn a profit.' ^% g% }6 t8 c# E+ D4 r
# Q/ ~# Q c9 E5 c# G- g"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." l! Q, E, ]8 ]! [( {0 a, ?0 a
3 A% }. P4 x0 f; }& t; H' Z; V"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."
7 H) J9 I6 ^' W; }5 B1 t8 p: w+ H. G3 I
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 $42.57 on Friday. g( |. a0 N; c( q
}1 b9 B. E/ f4 {, H
"(The oil companies) might have realized that while prices were low in the last couple of weeks, they knew that there was going to be a correction," Hirsch said.1 B' n7 b2 N2 Z$ r- r9 j& @2 G
3 |% T8 v! L- V0 x' v' U- c
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.
@* H0 T1 A/ ]+ z6 j ]/ C
. w( X6 d& w3 F( C"I'm not seeing a lot of strengthening in crude oil prices over the next six months," he said.
$ n0 }6 Y9 ~; ]
p1 I$ }2 Q& [0 P3 K"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."
' ~7 n6 C" H+ E+ l# n9 `( n0 m9 S- v# B6 v+ X
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.- I( v" G* s# u# |# S' @: i& h
, d/ M! ]: c. C P3 X8 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.
! M' |- C* Q6 W! q5 O. u6 Y8 W/ l" W7 Q, y8 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
