Prowling the Pumps – October 28, 2008
October 31, 2008
Canadian Gasoline Prices
Average across Canada
| This week: | $0.978 per litre |
| Last week: | $1.044 per litre |
| Last Year: | $1.003 per litre |
A couple of firsts this week – first time since we started prowling the pumps last April that the average price of gasoline in Canada is less than one dollar, and is less that the comparable period last year. And it’s still dropping – 6.6¢ per litre this week to $0.978 per litre. Our hypothetical 80-litre tank was $5.28 less expensive to fill this week than last.
Gasoline prices slid in every province, with the Northwest Territories, at 13¢, dropping the most .
Overall, the average gasoline price in Canada has dropped 40.5¢ per litre since its all-time high of $1.383 per litre during the week of July 15. And this means that our hypothetical 80-litre tank now costs $32.40 per litre less than it did only three months ago. The reasons remain the same – declining demand for gasoline and cheap oil.
Least Expensive Gasoline in Canada (per litre)
| Excluding Taxes | Taxes | Total | |
| Ottawa, ON | $0.613 | $0.290 | $0.903 |
| Kingston, ON | $0.613 | $0.291 | $0.924 |
| Hamilton, ON | $0.638 | $0.291 | $0.929 |
| London, ON | $0.639 | $0.292 | $0.931 |
| Peterborough, ON | $0.649 | $0.291 | $0.940 |
Despite all the surveyed cities in Alberta having gasoline prices less than a dollar per litre and despite gasoline taxes in Alberta averaging 5.5¢ less than in Ontario, Ontario claimed all the spots in the low-price five.
Most Expensive Gasoline in Canada (per litre)
| Excluding Taxes | Taxes | Total | |
| Whitehorse, YT | $0.994 | $0.220 | $1.214 |
| Labrador City, NL | $0.803 | $0.404 | $1.207 |
| Yellowknife, NT | $0.935 | $0.264 | $1.199 |
| Gander, NL | $0.752 | $0.397 | $1.149 |
| Fort St. John, BC | $0.824 | $0.323 | $1.147 |
Two cities in the pricey five are below $1.15 per litre and the other three are hovering around $1.20.
The big questions last week regarding the price of oil were How low will it go? and How fast will it turn around? Well, last week WTI dipped as low as $63.15 US per barrel. Some pundits are saying it could go as low as $50.00 US per barrel. Others are saying OPEC is looking at a range from $70.00 to $90.00 US per barrel. But prices continued to slip even after OPEC announced a 1.5 million barrel per day production cut back. And word is, if prices continue to fall, OPEC will meet in an “extraordinary” meeting prior to their scheduled meeting in December.
Have oil prices fallen too far? Should we brace ourselves for a “technical correction?
We’ll see what happens next week.
We’ll see what happens next week.
Pricing by Province
| Last Week | This Week | Change | |
| BC | 1.162 | 1.115 | -0.047 |
| AB | 1.007 | 0.965 | -0.042 |
| SK | 1.102 | 1.056 | -0.046 |
| MB | 1.111 | 1.020 | -0.091 |
| ON | 1.045 | 0.982 | -0.063 |
| QC | 1.088 | 1.055 | -0.033 |
| NB | 1.067 | 1.027 | -0.040 |
| PE | 1.049 | 0.986 | -0.063 |
| NS | 1.088 | 1.040 | -0.048 |
| NL | 1.192 | 1.153 | -0.039 |
| YT | 1.249 | 1.214 | 0.035 |
| NT | 1.329 | 1.199 | -0.130 |
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