Prowling the Pumps – January 20, 2009

Canadian Gasoline Prices

Average across Canada

And the upward trend continues. The average price of gasoline in Canada this week was 83.6¢ per litre – an increase of 5.8¢ per litre over last week. And although that’s 20.9¢ per litre cheaper than it was last year at this time, it’s still 11.9¢ more expensive than the 71.7¢ we were paying at the start of 2009..

While New Brunswick and Newfoundland both saw modest decreases in price, and Yukon and the Northwest Territories remained steady, the rest of Canada saw increased prices – as much as 7.6¢ per litre in Manitoba.

For the first time since December 2, 2008, there were no cities in Canada this week with gasoline prices lower than 70¢. In 22 cities, prices were between 70¢ and 80¢ per litre; in 30 prices were between 80¢ and 90¢; and in only 6 was it higher than 90¢. A big shift to the right.

Least Expensive Gasoline in Canada (per litre)

Seeing as New Brunswick was one of two provinces to register a small decrease in the price of gasoline, while all but one of the others, including Ontario and Alberta, reported higher prices, it should come as no surprise that four cities in New Brunswick placed in the low-cost five. Having Canada’s largest refinery in Saint John may be part of the reason.

Most Expensive Gasoline in Canada (per litre)

Whitehorse again managed to avoid the pricey five this week as Victoria and Vancouver stayed in the pricey five and welcomed newcomer Montreal.

So…last week the Prowler said he doesn’t see this price rise as the start of a trend. This week he’ll stay the course, but the firmness of his stance is weakening. Oil prices hovered around the $40.00 US per barrel mark all week with some fluctuations, although the amplitude of the fluctuations was not as great as in previous weeks. Seeing as they weren’t dipping as low, gasoline didn’t dip either. Is this the start of an upward trend?

The Prowler doesn’t think so because the economy is still in a mess – markets up for a few days, then down for a few days, wiping out all the gains; advances in one sector but declines in the others; lower interest rates, but higher unemployment and bankruptcy rates. The indicators aren’t consistent.

What could prove to be a powerful force in the coming months is the apparent change in the collective attitude south of the border. A rising tide of optimism could be a very positive catalyst for political and economic change.
We’ll see what happens in the coming weeks.

Pricing by Province

	Last Week	This Week	Change
BC	0.860	0.910	0.050
AB	0.738	0.792	0.054
SK	0.839	0.899	0.060
MB	0.767	0.843	0.076
ON	0.764	0.801	0.037
QC	0.777	0.834	0.057
NB	0.760	0.759	-0.001
PE	0.743	0.789	0.046
NS	0.792	0.818	0.026
NL	0.887	0.885	-0.002
YT	0.849	0.849	0.000
NT	0.972	0.972	0.000