Prowling the Pumps – September 9, 2008

Canadian Gasoline Prices

Average across Canada

The average price of gasoline in Canada decreased 3.2¢ this week. Our hypothetical 80-litre tank was $2.56 less expensive to fill this week than last. Gasoline prices fell in five provinces, but rose in Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and the Yukon. They remained the same in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and the Northwest Territories.

It’s all about the weather. Hurricane Gustav missed refinery row on the Texas/Louisiana Gulf Coast and Hanna missed the Gulf completely. Ike crossed Cuba into the Gulf, but prices remained low, pending firmer forecasts of that storm’s path.

Least Expensive Gasoline in Canada (per litre)

New Brunswick exits the low-cost five and Alberta returns, but Ontario maintains its dominance with four cities and, of course, Kingston remains the best place in Canada to find cheap gasoline..

Most Expensive Gasoline in Canada (per litre)

Last week, it was Vancouver in, Gander out. This week it’s just the opposite, Vancouver out, Gander in. Pretty much the same story as last week for the pricey five. Substitute Vancouver for Gander.

A number of factors are impacting oil prices. Hurricane Ike and the path it will take across the Gulf of Mexico adds uncertainty to the equation and possibly an oil price hike. The U.S. government bail-out of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, entities which own or guarantee more than half of the U.S. mortgage market, strengthened the U.S. dollar causing commodity prices to fall. OPEC, meeting in Vienna this week, was not expected to make any changes in its production levels; however it announced a half-million barrel per day production cut in an effort to support an oil price around the $100 US per barrel mark. Oil prices rose slightly on this news, but settled back to about $102 US. Overall, oil prices are down about $45 per barrel from their record high in July.

We’ll see what happens next week.