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Fuel Focus, December 12, 2014

Table of Contents


National Overview

Lowest Average Canadian Retail Gasoline Price in Four Years

For the week ending December 9, 2014, Canadian average retail gasoline prices decreased from the previous week by 5 cents per litre to $1.07 per litre – the lowest price since November 23, 2010. Since the last report two weeks ago, average Canadian pump prices decreased by 7.2 cents per litre. Overall, pump prices are nearly 19 cents per litre lower than last year at this time.

Diesel fuel prices decreased by nearly 3 cents per litre to $1.26 cents per litre compared to the previous week. Furnace oil prices declined by less than 1 cent per litre to $1.18 per litre compared to last week, but are nearly 7 cents per litre lower than the previous year.

Figure 1: Crude Oil and Regular Gasoline Price Comparison
(National Average)

Crude Oil and Gasoline Price Comparison

 
Text version

Figure 1

The graph shows prices in cents per litre for gasoline at retail, gasoline excluding taxes, and Edmonton Par and Brent crude oil prices. Gasoline prices ended the period of December 9, 2014, at 107.2 cents per litre, excluding taxes at 69.9 cents per litre, Canadian Light Sweet at 42.9 cents per litre and Brent at 50.3 cents per litre.

Date Gasoline at retail Excluding Taxes Edmonton Par crude Brent crude
01/01/2013 118.9 80.4 46.6 69.3
08/01/2013 120.6 81.9 49.4 69.5
15/01/2013 118.9 80.3 53.7 69.2
22/01/2013 119.7 81.1 55.2 68.7
29/01/2013 123.3 84.3 56.6 70.7
05/02/2013 129.2 89.7 61.9 72.5
12/02/2013 127.7 88.4 54.8 73.5
19/02/2013 130.5 90.9 55.3 74.6
26/02/2013 131.2 91.6 54.7 67.1
05/03/2013 131.2 91.6 51.8 72.5
12/03/2013 129.9 90.4 54.2 71.8
19/03/2013 130.1 90.7 56.7 70.6
26/03/2013 129.4 90.0 57.0 69.7
02/04/2013 128.7 89.3 58.4 69.9
09/04/2013 126.5 87.4 59.5 68.9
16/04/2013 125.0 86.0 58.0 67.0
23/04/2013 125.1 85.9 54.8 64.4
30/04/2013 126.3 87.0 55.8 65.5
07/05/2013 126.0 86.7 61.4 65.1
14/05/2013 129.3 89.8 59.1 66.1
21/05/2013 131.4 91.8 58.8 66.1
28/05/2013 132.9 93.2 60.0 66.9
04/06/2013 131.1 91.5 58.1 66.6
11/06/2013 132.9 93.2 57.8 66.8
18/06/2013 133.1 93.3 57.0 66.8
25/06/2013 130.5 91.0 58.0 67.4
02/07/2013 128.3 88.9 59.0 67.2
09/07/2013 132.4 92.6 63.1 69.6
16/07/2013 134.4 94.3 66.6 71.2
23/07/2013 134.7 94.6 68.7 71.1
30/07/2013 132.7 92.8 67.9 69.8
06/08/2013 131.5 91.7 64.1 70.1
13/08/2013 130.0 90.3 65.6 70.3
20/08/2013 132.0 92.2 66.4 71.3
27/08/2013 133.0 93.0 66.4 72.3
03/09/2013 133.9 93.8 70.2 75.5
10/09/2013 132.1 92.2 68.1 76.1
17/09/2013 130.6 90.8 65.8 73.0
24/09/2013 126.4 87.1 63.7 70.8
01/10/2013 124.3 85.2 61.9 70.3
08/10/2013 123.6 84.6 60.1 70.6
15/10/2013 124.8 85.6 60.9 71.9
22/10/2013 125.5 86.2 59.7 71.7
29/10/2013 124.4 85.2 57.4 70.6
05/11/2013 123.7 84.6 58.9 71.1
12/11/2013 122.6 83.6 53.5 69.0
19/11/2013 124.6 85.3 48.7 70.7
26/11/2013 126.4 86.9 48.6 71.8
03/12/2013 125.4 86.1 49.4 73.6
10/12/2013 125.9 86.5 50.9 74.9
17/12/2013 124.5 85.2 52.5 73.0
24/12/2013 125.0 85.6 52.6 73.5
31/12/2013 128.3 88.6 52.6 74.9
07/01/2014 125.0 85.6 60.6 73.0
14/01/2014 125.6 86.2 54.6 72.6
21/01/2014 125.7 86.3 52.8 73.2
28/01/2014 126.6 87.0 55.1 74.9
04/02/2014 125.9 86.7 59.0 75.1
11/02/2014 127.6 88.2 57.0 74.4
18/02/2014 129.3 89.8 68.5 75.3
25/02/2014 130.7 91.0 69.7 75.4
04/03/2014 132.5 92.7 71.5 75.4
11/03/2014 131.8 92.1 70.3 75.9
18/03/2014 132.0 92.3 64.3 75.4
25/03/2014 132.9 93.2 63.4 74.7
01/04/2014 132.9 93.2 64.4 75.2
08/04/2014 133.9 94.1 65.1 73.7
15/04/2014 136.8 96.7 64.2 73.8
22/04/2014 137.7 97.4 65.5 75.7
29/04/2014 139.8 99.4 65.0 76.1
06/05/2014 136.9 96.8 64.2 74.8
13/05/2014 135.7 95.8 64.2 73.9
20/05/2014 136.0 95.9 65.2 75.0
27/05/2014 136.8 96.6 66.2 75.5
03/06/2014 137.4 97.2 70.3 75.0
10/06/2014 138.1 97.9 65.5 74.7
17/06/2014 138.8 98.5 67.1 76.0
24/06/2014 141.2 100.7 67.3 77.8
01/07/2014 138.7 98.4 66.5 76.7
08/07/2014 137.2 97.0 65.2 74.9
15/07/2014 133.8 93.9 62.9 72.9
22/07/2014 133.0 93.2 62.7 72.4
29/07/2014 131.8 92.1 63.0 72.9
05/08/2014 131.1 91.5 63.7 72.9
2014-08-12 133.6 93.8 61.0 72.3
2014-08-19 131.3 91.7 61.1 71.1
26/08/2014 132.1 92.5 59.8 70.2
02/09/2014 132.8 93.0 60.6 70.4
09/09/2014 133.0 93.3 61.2 69.5
16/09/2014 129.9 90.4 60.5 68.2
23/09/2014 129.4 90.0 61.1 68.0
30/09/2014 130.1 90.6 60.6 67.6
07/10/2014 128.0 88.8 60.8 66.4
14/10/2014 123.1 84.4 58.0 64.2
21/10/2014 121.9 83.2 54.8 60.5
28/10/2014 118.8 80.3 53.1 60.8
04/11/2014 117.8 79.5 51.7 60.8
11/11/2014 119.2 80.7 49.0 59.6
18/11/2014 116.2 78.1 47.5 57.2
25/11/2014 114.4 76.4 47.0 56.2
02/12/2014 112.3 74.4 45.9 54.3
09/12/2014 107.2 69.9 42.9 50.3
 

Figure 2: Weekly Regular Gasoline Prices

Weekly Regular Gasoline Prices

 
Text version

Figure 2

This graph shows the gasoline price trends from 2012 to 2014.

Date 2012 Gasoline at Retail Date 2013 Gasoline at Retail Date 2014 Gasoline at Retail
12-01-03 120.60 13-01-01 118.90 13-12-31 128.30
12-01-10 122.90 13-01-08 120.60 14-01-07 125.00
12-01-17 123.00 13-01-15 118.90 14-01-14 125.60
12-01-24 123.30 13-01-22 119.70 14-01-21 125.70
12-01-31 124.70 13-01-29 123.30 14-01-28 126.60
12-02-07 122.70 13-02-05 129.20 14-02-04 125.90
12-02-14 126.70 13-02-12 127.70 14-02-11 127.60
12-02-21 127.00 13-02-19 130.50 14-02-18 129.30
12-02-28 131.70 13-02-26 131.20 14-02-25 130.70
12-03-06 127.30 13-03-05 131.20 14-03-04 132.50
12-03-13 131.00 13-03-12 129.90 14-03-11 131.80
12-03-20 132.80 13-03-19 130.10 14-03-18 132.00
12-03-27 132.70 13-03-26 129.40 14-03-25 132.90
12-04-03 135.10 13-04-02 128.70 14-04-01 132.90
12-04-10 136.40 13-04-09 126.50 14-04-08 133.90
12-04-17 136.70 13-04-16 125.00 14-04-15 136.80
12-04-24 132.00 13-04-23 125.10 14-04-22 137.70
12-05-01 131.90 13-04-30 126.30 14-04-29 139.80
12-05-08 129.50 13-05-07 126.00 14-05-06 136.90
12-05-15 130.30 13-05-14 129.30 14-05-13 135.70
12-05-22 128.50 13-05-21 131.40 14-05-20 136.00
12-05-29 129.30 13-05-28 132.90 14-05-27 136.80
12-06-05 126.80 13-06-04 131.10 14-06-03 137.40
12-06-12 126.70 13-06-11 132.90 14-06-10 138.10
12-06-19 126.80 13-06-18 133.10 14-06-17 138.80
12-06-26 123.70 13-06-25 130.50 14-06-24 141.20
12-07-03 123.10 13-07-02 128.30 14-07-01 138.70
12-07-10 126.00 13-07-09 132.40 14-07-08 137.20
12-07-17 128.00 13-07-16 134.40 14-07-15 133.80
12-07-24 129.20 13-07-23 134.70 14-07-22 133.00
12-07-31 127.30 13-07-30 132.70 14-07-29 131.80
12-08-07 129.70 13-08-06 131.50 14-08-05 131.10
12-08-14 131.00 13-08-13 130.00 14-08-12 133.60
12-08-21 130.30 13-08-20 132.00 14-08-19 131.30
12-08-28 130.60 13-08-27 133.00 14-08-26 132.10
12-09-04 130.90 13-09-03 133.90 14-09-02 132.80
12-09-11 132.20 13-09-10 132.10 14-09-09 133.00
12-09-18 134.60 13-09-17 130.60 14-09-16 129.90
12-09-25 128.90 13-09-24 126.40 14-09-23 129.40
12-10-02 132.80 13-10-01 124.30 14-09-30 130.10
12-10-09 133.00 13-10-08 123.60 14-10-07 128.00
12-10-16 130.10 13-10-15 124.80 14-10-14 123.10
12-10-23 124.30 13-10-22 125.50 14-10-21 121.90
12-10-30 123.50 13-10-29 124.40 14-10-28 118.80
12-11-06 121.60 13-11-05 123.70 14-11-04 117.80
12-11-13 122.50 13-11-12 122.60 14-11-11 119.20
12-11-20 122.20 13-11-19 124.60 14-11-18 116.20
12-11-27 122.60 13-11-26 126.40 14-11-25 114.20
12-12-04 120.90 13-12-03 125.40 14-12-02 112.30
12-12-11 117.30 13-12-10 125.90 14-12-09 107.20
12-12-18 117.70 13-12-17 124.50 14-12-16  
12-12-25 119.00 13-12-24 125.00 14-12-23  
    13-12-31 128.30 14-12-30  
 
Table 1: Changes in Fuel Prices
¢/L Week of: 2014-12-09 Change from:Previous  Week Change from:Last Year
Gasoline 107.2 -5.1 -18.7
Diesel 125.8 -2.8 -9.3
Furnace Oil 118.2 -0.4 -6.6
Natural Gas Prices in $CA/GJ
Alberta (NGX) 3.21 -0.79 -0.49
Ontario (Dawn) 4.26 -0.18 -0.28

Source: NRCan, Bloomberg, NGX

Table 2: Natural Gas Prices for Vehicles
2014-12-09 ¢/kilogram ¢/L gasoline equivalent ¢/L diesel equivalent
Vancouver 118.0 77.8 80.7
Edmonton 115.1 75.9 78.7
Toronto 128.4 84.7 87.8

Source: ¢/kg Kent Marketing Services Limited

Recent Developments

  • Last Issue of Fuel Focus in 2014: This is the last issue of Fuel Focus for this year. The 2014 Annual Review will be released on January 23, 2015 and the regular bi-weekly issues will resume on February 6, 2015.
     
  • North American Natural Gas Market: Natural Resources Canada’s North American Natural Gas Market: 2014-2015 Heating Season Outlook is available.

    The Supplement on page 6 highlights the heating season outlook.
  • U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard Regulation Deferred: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is deferring a regulation on renewable fuel standard until next year due to ongoing consideration of issues. First established as part of a 2005 energy law and significantly expanded in another law in 2007, the renewable-fuel standard requires refineries to blend an increasingly large amount of biofuels into gasoline. The standard was created as a way to help reduce carbon emissions and wean the nation off foreign oil when the U.S. was importing two-thirds of its oil. Given the domestic oil boom and higher fuel-economy standards, the U.S. imports about a third of its oil and is consuming less gasoline than the 2005 and 2007 laws envisioned. Opponents to the biofuels mandate are the oil and refining companies, car manufacturers, livestock and some environmental interests groups. Proponents of the standard include the corn industry, which is the most common way ethanol is produced, and producers of ethanol. (Source: Wall Street Journal)

Retail Gasoline Overview

For the period ending December 9, 2014, the four-week average regular gasoline pump price in selected cities across Canada was $1.12 per litre, a decrease of 4 cents per litre compared to the price in the previous report of November 28, 2014. Compared to the same period in 2013, the average Canadian pump price is 13 cents per litre lower.

The four-week average crude component was 53 cents per litre, a decrease of 3 cents compared to two weeks ago. Crude oil prices are 5 cents per litre lower compared to the same time last year.

Average retail gasoline prices in Western centres decreased by 5 cents per litre to $1.07 per litre when compared to the previous report and ranged from $1.00 to $1.23 per litre. Average prices in Eastern cities rose by 3.5 cents per litre to $1.15 per litre from the previous week and ranged from $1.12to $1.22 per litre.

At the national level, refining and marketing costs and margins registered a decrease of less than 1 cent per litre to reach 22 cents per litre. This is a decrease of 6 cents per litre compared to the same time last year.

Figure 3: Regular Gasoline Pump Prices in Selected Cities Four-Week Average (November 18 to December 9, 2014)

Regular Gasoline Pump Prices in Selected Cities Four-Week Average (June 3 to 24, 2014)

 
Text version

Figure 3

This graph shows the gasoline price components for 2 territories and 10 cities plus the national average.

  Whitehorse Yellowknife Vancouver Calgary Regina Winnipeg Toronto Montreal* Saint John* Halifax* Charlottetown* St. John's* Canada
Pump Price 127.9 135.2 122.6 101.9 103.8 99.8 111.8 122.2 113.5 114.6 113.5 115.6 112.5
Crude (est. 45.8 45.8 45.8 45.8 45.8 45.8 49.8 54.5 54.5 54.5 54.5 54.5 53.3
Federal Taxes 16.1 16.4 10.0 14.9 14.9 14.8 10.0 15.3 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 15.0
Provincial Tax 6.2 10.7 32.2 9.0 15.0 14.0 14.7 32.8 13.6 15.5 13.1 16.5 22.7
HST     5.8       12.9   13.1 14.9 13.9 13.3  
Refining & Marketing Costs & Margins 59.8 62.3 28.8 32.2 28.1 25.2 24.4 19.6 22.3 19.7 22.0 21.3 21.5
 

Source: NRCan
* Regulated Markets

Note: Toronto crude oil cost includes pipeline tolls of $4 per barrel for light crude oil from Edmonton to Sarnia, Ontario.
 

Inflation Up 2.4% in October 2014

According to Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, released November 21, 2014, inflation rose 2.4% in the 12 months to October, after increasing 2.0% in September.

Prices increased in all major components in the 12 months to October. Higher prices for shelter and food led the rise in the CPI. At the same time, larger year-over-year price increases for transportation and for clothing and footwear contributed the most to the acceleration in the CPI.

The transportation index increased 1.1% in the 12 months to October, after rising 0.5% in September. Despite posting four consecutive monthly decreases, gasoline prices were up 0.6% on a year-over-year basis in October, after falling 0.5% in September. Gasoline prices recorded a smaller monthly decline this October (-4.0%) compared with October 2013 (-5.1%). On a year-over-year basis, consumers also paid more for air transportation and for the purchase of passenger vehicles.

Source: The Daily.

 

Wholesale Gasoline Prices

Wholesale gasoline price changes, compared to the previous week, declined in all centres in the range of 5 to nearly 8 cents per litre.

Wholesale gasoline price changes in Eastern markets, in both Canada and the United States, declined in the range of 5 to 8 cents per litre compared to the previous week, ending the period in the 58 to 63 cent-per-litre range.

Wholesale gasoline price changes in Western centres decreased in the range of less than 5 cents per litre to more than 7 cents per litre and ended the period between 57 and 60 cents per litre.

Compared to last year at the same time, wholesale prices in Canadian and American centres declined in the range of 15 to 24 cents per litre.

 
Text version

Figure 4

This graph shows the trend in wholesale gasoline prices for selected centres in Canada and the U.S.

DATE Halifax Braintree Montreal Rochester Toronto Buffalo Edmonton Grand Forks Vancouver Seattle
Thu 03-Jan-13 77.50 75.42 78.60 75.82 77.50 77.31 65.40 66.07 75.50 68.79
Thu 10-Jan-13 76.70 74.48 77.40 75.49 76.90 77.88 63.40 66.67 72.40 65.77
Thu 17-Jan-13 74.80 73.73 75.40 74.81 75.00 74.96 62.40 69.13 70.90 65.72
Thu 13-Dec-12 72.10 70.22 74.90 71.94 73.90 77.52 67.70 64.43 70.50 65.70
Thu 24-Jan-13 79.00 78.00 79.00 78.15 78.30 78.93 66.80 75.06 73.50 70.59
Thu 31-Jan-13 84.10 81.70 84.70 81.81 83.50 80.51 72.50 78.85 83.40 79.19
Thu 07-Feb-13 84.60 80.98 85.10 81.47 83.20 83.16 73.10 80.16 84.00 78.87
Thu 14-Feb-13 84.50 83.61 84.20 84.35 83.20 83.55 78.10 86.03 83.30 79.18
Thu 21-Feb-13 86.70 83.01 85.90 84.51 85.40 87.44 79.70 85.90 86.00 82.60
Thu 28-Feb-13 82.80 80.41 81.90 83.34 81.90 83.14 80.50 83.70 86.20 81.99
Thu 07-Mar-13 84.10 80.00 83.60 82.22 83.30 84.09 81.00 82.56 86.90 80.15
Thu 14-Mar-13 84.60 81.52 84.00 83.10 83.90 85.12 81.70 82.24 85.40 78.61
Thu 21-Mar-13 84.10 80.55 84.50 81.59 84.80 84.95 81.80 81.66 82.10 75.28
Thu 28-Mar-13 82.00 79.08 81.50 80.79 82.60 84.24 80.20 82.51 83.80 79.62
Thu 04-Apr-13 79.40 73.32 79.50 77.54 80.60 84.10 77.40 78.17 80.20 77.14
Thu 11-Apr-13 77.30 73.36 78.90 75.92 79.80 83.84 75.90 75.52 81.50 76.23
Thu 18-Apr-13 74.70 75.92 76.30 76.28 77.10 75.04 74.90 76.41 78.50 74.77
Thu 25-Apr-13 74.80 77.01 75.90 76.42 76.70 75.40 76.80 78.08 79.00 77.56
Thu 02-May-13 73.50 76.65 74.50 75.00 75.00 75.38 78.80 79.70 82.00 83.51
Thu 09-May-13 75.10 76.22 77.60 77.03 78.50 77.88 83.90 87.57 90.80 87.15
Thu 16-May-13 78.10 77.25 81.50 78.21 80.90 80.54 89.30 101.10 92.50 85.64
Thu 23-May-13 78.60 78.37 80.50 78.09 81.30 79.53 94.20 86.80 90.30 78.24
Thu 30-May-13 78.40 78.36 79.80 77.90 81.40 78.43 92.60 82.64 87.60 73.33
Thu 06-Jun-13 78.70 78.91 80.50 78.17 81.60 78.16 92.40 83.64 86.60 76.00
Thu 13-Jun-13 77.80 78.32 78.90 77.45 80.60 76.84 90.20 79.79 86.00 77.78
Thu 20-Jun-13 80.10 78.00 81.00 76.50 82.00 79.30 86.20 76.78 88.10 79.78
Thu 27-Jun-13 77.80 76.96 78.10 76.22 79.40 76.41 82.40 75.29 85.70 77.93
Thu 04-Jul-13 79.80 78.53 81.30 77.56 81.80 76.93 82.70 77.19 88.70 80.47
Thu 11-Jul-13 84.60 84.52 86.30 82.08 85.80 82.51 85.00 83.36 93.40 87.07
Thu 18-Jul-13 87.10 86.48 87.80 82.88 87.80 84.45 86.70 85.15 93.90 82.94
Thu 25-Jul-15 84.40 81.63 84.80 79.09 85.40 81.21 84.10 82.55 89.90 79.53
Thu 01-Aug-13 83.20 83.68 84.00 80.06 84.10 81.93 82.00 84.32 89.50 79.81
Thu 08-Aug-13 82.30 79.58 82.20 76.89 82.60 78.85 81.10 78.95 87.00 75.45
Thu 15-Aug-13 84.20 83.01 84.40 80.94 84.20 81.32 81.20 82.30 88.50 76.76
Thu 22-Aug-13 83.90 83.75 84.00 82.03 83.50 82.16 80.90 84.32 86.40 76.73
Thu 29-Aug-13 88.90 87.42 88.30 85.55 88.10 86.41 83.40 89.62 88.90 80.31
Thu 05-Sep-13 86.70 84.77 86.20 83.13 85.90 84.03 83.20 86.81 86.50 79.97
Thu 12-Sep-13 81.00 79.52 80.90 77.16 82.90 78.97 79.20 79.37 84.00 78.65
Thu 19-Sep-13 79.70 73.77 80.20 73.60 81.60 75.45 77.10 77.32 83.70 74.59
Thu 26-Sep-13 77.40 75.99 77.00 74.69 78.70 75.25 76.50 76.96 80.90 74.43
Thu 03-Oct-13 76.50 73.93 76.00 74.33 77.80 74.45 75.60 77.48 79.10 73.09
Thu 10-Oct-13 77.00 76.23 76.40 75.22 78.20 75.24 76.20 79.28 76.80 71.32
Thu 17-Oct-13 78.80 75.48 78.00 75.66 79.80 75.64 77.80 77.39 78.30 68.82
Thu 24-Oct-13 76.30 73.26 74.20 72.60 76.40 76.40 75.10 74.67 75.20 68.55
Thu 31-Oct-13 78.40 74.83 77.40 75.50 78.90 74.66 75.90 73.89 75.50 69.29
Thu 07-Nov-13 76.50 73.29 75.40 73.47 77.70 73.62 73.10 70.87 73.90 67.58
Thu 14-Nov-13 78.50 78.01 77.70 77.49 78.90 78.23 74.80 73.14 74.60 71.77
Thu 21-Nov-13 80.00 80.43 77.80 77.74 79.80 77.16 75.30 74.96 73.50 69.75
Thu 28-Nov-13 81.30 78.79 80.20 79.06 81.60 79.32 75.50 73.46 74.60 70.20
Thu 05-Dec-13 81.30 81.98 81.70 80.77 81.90 79.95 74.00 73.04 74.70 71.18
Thu 12-Dec-13 79.30 80.57 80.00 80.76 79.60 79.52 72.30 67.30 73.60 69.01
Thu 19-Dec-13 80.60 80.41 80.60 80.76 79.80 81.20 69.40 74.95 74.60 71.49
Thu 26-Dec-13 82.50 82.08 84.20 81.35 82.80 82.75 72.70 77.90 77.80 73.92
Thu 02-Jan-14 83.00 81.60 83.90 81.26 82.40 81.49 72.90 77.05 77.80 72.33
Thu 09-Jan-14 81.80 79.89 81.30 81.25 80.00 81.12 72.60 77.50 75.40 69.37
Thu 16-Jan-14 79.90 78.10 80.80 80.69 79.20 80.27 73.60 78.54 74.50 69.50
Thu 23-Jan-14 83.30 81.27 82.50 80.86 81.50 84.27 75.20 81.56 77.80 72.04
Thu 30-Jan-14 83.60 81.57 82.50 81.27 81.60 84.27 75.90 82.75 77.20 72.24
Thu 06-Feb-14 83.00 81.77 81.00 79.85 80.60 82.00 75.00 82.38 76.40 73.02
Thu 13-Feb-14 85.40 84.58 83.50 82.68 83.50 83.54 77.70 86.24 79.80 74.26
Thu 20-Feb-14 87.30 87.33 84.90 85.83 85.20 88.00 79.60 89.82 80.40 76.56
Thu 27-Feb-14 87.60 87.64 84.60 86.29 85.70 87.43 83.00 89.92 82.60 80.13
Thu 06-Mar-14 85.10 84.56 83.30 84.37 84.20 85.84 84.10 91.11 84.80 81.55
Thu 13-Mar-14 85.90 84.97 83.80 85.80 83.50 86.75 85.30 91.48 85.40 82.23
Thu 20-Mar-14 84.20 86.34 82.40 86.82 82.10 87.62 85.00 91.13 85.70 84.11
Thu 27-Mar-14 83.40 84.62 84.62 84.72 82.80 87.34 85.90 90.80 86.80 85.82
Thu 03-Apr-14 81.90 82.99 83.10 83.94 82.50 87.19 85.30 90.11 85.90 83.37
Thu 10-Apr-14 86.70 82.53 86.50 85.36 86.00 95.70 88.00 91.01 89.40 86.71
Thu 17-Apr-14 90.60 88.47 87.90 88.00 88.70 97.62 88.80 90.24 91.20 88.76
Thu 24-Apr-14 91.30 91.03 90.10 89.26 91.40 99.92 90.50 92.66 94.50 88.79
Thu 01-May-14 87.60 88.06 87.00 86.18 88.80 87.36 88.70 88.15 91.30 83.13
Thu 08-May-14 86.90 87.20 84.80 83.61 86.60 89.49 86.60 87.11 91.00 84.56
Thu 15-May-14 86.50 84.35 85.10 84.57 87.20 86.86 86.90 88.18 92.50 85.56
Thu 22-May-14 88.30 85.62 86.70 85.75 89.30 88.24 88.30 90.07 93.20 88.76
Thu 29-May-14 87.30 85.51 86.80 85.31 89.40 87.46 88.60 90.44 93.60 87.32
Thu 05-Jun-14 84.80 84.40 86.10 82.54 89.80 86.83 90.60 89.57 93.60 88.04
Thu 12-Jun-14 86.10 87.14 86.30 84.73 91.30 88.58 89.80 90.68 95.40 89.01
Thu 19-Jun-14 88.80 87.87 89.70 86.27 93.50 88.82 90.50 91.88 97.40 90.68
Thu 26-Jun-14 87.20 85.34 88.00 82.13 92.30 86.41 87.70 89.10 95.80 89.24
Thu 03-Jul-14 85.20 83.69 86.20 81.51 91.00 83.83 86.10 87.49 92.60 84.50
Thu 10-Jul-14 83.30 85.59 84.00 81.81 88.30 81.79 82.70 85.06 87.10 77.57
Thu 17-Jul-14 83.00 80.56 83.20 80.28 87.00 80.73 81.10 83.27 85.90 80.33
Thu 24-Jul-14 82.80 79.09 82.80 79.34 86.20 79.74 80.00 81.68 85.80 81.44
Thu 31-Jul-14 83.80 87.46 83.40 80.18 86.40 80.24 82.20 83.30 87.80 84.44
Thu 07-Aug-14 81.40 79.26 81.80 80.46 84.90 79.89 81.90 88.04 87.30 86.85
Thu 14-Aug-14 82.60 77.16 82.40 79.65 84.90 78.55 84.30 84.66 87.00 84.17
Thu 21-Aug-14 81.90 79.42 81.70 79.51 83.90 81.73 81.80 85.88 86.20 87.20
Thu 28-Aug-14 83.10 78.90 82.80 80.35 84.40 80.39 82.90 83.88 86.70 83.98
Thu 04-Sep-14 83.10 80.84 83.70 79.15 84.90 82.42 84.60 83.78 87.50 82.30
Thu 11-Sep-14 81.50 76.41 81.80 76.36 81.60 81.51 83.70 81.38 84.00 76.59
Thu 18-Sep-14 80.60 77.81 80.50 74.98 80.70 79.17 81.60 80.84 82.80 71.42
Thu 25-Sep-14 83.60 78.95 83.50 80.27 83.20 82.88 82.40 84.63 81.10 74.90
Thu 02-Oct-14 81.10 79.27 80.70 78.81 80.80 77.62 80.70 77.68 79.00 70.20
Thu 09-Oct-14 76.90 79.26 76.00 66.83 75.10 72.60 76.90 75.00 73.00 62.09
Thu 16-Oct-14 72.80 80.09 71.40 71.13 70.90 73.39 71.60 77.11 68.80 60.12
Thu 23-Oct-14 73.00 79.88 71.20 68.07 71.40 73.20 71.00 84.35 68.90 61.00
Thu 30-Oct-14 72.80 67.77 72.30 68.97 73.10 71.65 70.00 74.62 71.90 62.09
Thu 06-Nov-14 68.60 67.60 68.40 68.48 69.50 72.40 70.10 69.67 71.40 67.60
Thu 13-Nov-14 69.50 65.75 69.90 65.51 70.50 69.41 69.90 62.53 74.60 68.81
Thu 20-Nov-14 68.20 65.89 68.10 64.70 68.40 70.32 65.70 62.55 70.30 64.40
Thu 27-Nov-14 67.50 65.06 67.70 65.72 68.10 70.63 63.70 62.26 65.70 59.13
Thu 04-Dec-14 61.90 58.14 62.40 58.98 62.70 62.97 59.20 56.59 60.20 51.92
 

Sources: NRCan, Bloomberg Oil Buyers Guide

Gasoline Refining and Marketing Margins

Four-week rolling averages are used for gasoline refining and marketing margins.

On average, refining margins this week decreased by 1 cent per litre to 16 cents per litre at the national level for the period ending on December 9, 2014.

In general, both refining and marketing margins are influenced by specific market conditions, mainly due to changes in product supply and demand balances.

Nationally, the marketing margin hovered at around 9.7 cents per litre, the highest on record, due to wholesale gasoline prices decreasing faster than retail pump prices.

This margin, which tends to fluctuate depending on local market conditions, represents the difference between the pump price and the price paid by the retailer to purchase the gasoline and also serves to pay for the costs associated with operating a service station.

 
Text version

Figure 5

These graphs show the trend in refining and marketing costs and margins for selected centres in Canada and the national average.

4-week rolling average Canada Vancouver Calgary Toronto Montreal Halifax
Marketing Margin Refining Margin Marketing Margin Refining Margin Marketing Margin Refining Margin Marketing Margin Refining Margin Marketing Margin Refining Margin Marketing Margin Refining Margin
2012-01-03 6.1 10.4 6.9 14.1 4.6 13.9 6.9 13.0 1.9 7.1 7.3 4.4
2012-01-10 6.1 11.3 6.4 14.9 3.0 14.2 6.7 13.8 3.7 7.5 7.1 5.0
2012-01-17 6.5 11.8 6.4 15.4 4.0 14.1 6.9 14.5 5.1 8.7 7.2 6.0
2012-01-24 7.3 11.5 6.3 15.1 5.0 13.6 7.0 14.9 7.5 9.1 8.3 6.5
2012-01-31 7.6 12.3 6.7 16.6 5.0 15.0 7.4 17.3 8.0 10.6 8.2 8.1
2012-02-07 7.2 13.6 6.8 16.6 5.2 16.5 7.4 18.9 6.2 10.6 8.4 8.2
2012-02-14 7.0 15.2 6.8 17.4 4.8 17.9 7.3 20.8 6.1 10.3 7.8 8.4
2012-02-21 6.6 16.2 6.9 18.5 3.9 18.6 7.5 21.4 5.1 10.1 7.9 8.7
2012-02-28 6.8 16.9 6.8 19.3 3.9 17.7 7.3 20.3 6.5 8.8 8.0 8.2
2012-03-06 7.1 15.4 7.2 22.2 4.9 18.9 7.3 21.6 6.7 7.7 8.1 7.9
2012-03-13 7.3 16.2 7.5 26.6 5.6 22.4 7.4 23.8 6.9 6.9 8.4 7.6
2012-03-20 7.5 18.1 7.5 31.2 6.0 26.7 7.2 27.6 7.8 6.4 8.0 7.3
2012-03-27 6.9 20.1 7.1 36.2 5.6 31.9 6.9 32.5 6.3 6.9 8.0 7.7
2012-04-03 6.8 24.3 6.8 39.0 4.8 34.7 6.7 35.3 7.8 8.7 7.6 9.6
2012-04-10 7.1 25.8 7.1 38.3 5.8 34.4 6.8 36.2 7.4 10.4 8.4 11.4
2012-04-17 7.5 26.2 7.5 37.4 7.2 33.9 7.0 36.6 6.9 12.1 8.8 13.1
2012-04-24 8.0 25.7 7.4 34.4 9.0 31.8 6.7 34.9 7.6 12.4 10.0 13.3
2012-05-01 9.3 23.3 7.8 31.6 11.0 28.9 7.0 32.0 6.5 12.6 9.8 12.6
2012-05-08 8.7 21.7 7.2 31.0 10.5 27.3 6.9 29.5 6.6 12.0 9.8 11.3
2012-05-15 8.4 20.7 6.8 32.0 9.7 26.3 6.6 27.5 6.8 11.2 9.2 10.1
2012-05-22 8.0 20.6 7.0 33.2 8.6 26.3 7.0 27.0 5.9 11.4 7.8 9.7
2012-05-29 8.1 20.5 6.2 37.0 7.4 28.4 6.8 28.0 7.0 12.0 7.8 10.1
2012-06-05 8.0 21.8 6.1 38.6 7.1 30.0 6.5 28.5 6.3 13.2 7.6 10.9
2012-06-12 7.5 22.8 6.2 37.9 7.0 30.9 6.7 27.8 6.2 14.0 7.9 11.5
2012-06-19 7.8 23.3 6.7 38.0 6.3 32.5 6.7 27.5 8.0 15.3 8.3 12.9
2012-06-26 7.6 23.7 6.8 35.7 6.8 32.5 6.6 26.5 6.9 15.2 8.4 12.9
2012-07-03 7.3 23.7 7.0 34.9 6.5 33.0 6.1 27.0 6.6 14.8 7.3 12.1
2012-07-10 7.0 24.5 6.6 35.3 6.3 34.4 5.3 29.0 7.4 14.7 6.4 11.8
2012-07-17 6.6 25.8 5.9 34.9 7.0 34.0 4.9 30.9 6.3 14.0 6.2 10.7
2012-07-24 7.1 25.9 6.7 35.0 6.6 34.6 5.4 32.5 7.7 13.6 6.9 10.3
2012-07-31 7.6 26.1 6.6 34.3 6.2 34.6 5.8 33.3 9.0 13.4 7.5 10.4
2012-08-07 7.5 26.6 6.8 32.0 5.3 33.2 6.3 32.7 8.1 13.5 7.6 9.9
2012-08-14 7.6 25.4 7.1 30.2 5.5 32.4 6.7 31.2 8.2 13.0 8.4 9.3
2012-08-21 7.2 24.5 7.1 27.9 6.1 30.7 6.3 29.3 6.9 12.8 8.4 8.8
2012-08-28 6.5 23.9 7.1 26.4 6.0 30.0 5.8 28.8 5.8 13.6 8.2 9.9
2012-09-04 6.5 22.7 7.1 25.2 6.5 29.7 5.5 27.9 6.1 13.4 9.6 10.9
2012-09-11 5.6 23.3 7.0 23.6 5.3 29.3 4.8 28.3 4.2 15.9 8.4 13.5
2012-09-18 6.1 23.3 7.2 22.8 5.9 30.1 5.4 28.8 4.8 17.3 9.0 15.8
2012-09-25 6.5 22.9 7.0 22.3 6.2 30.4 5.7 27.6 5.4 16.4 8.8 16.4
2012-10-02 5.9 24.2 6.3 23.3 6.0 31.2 5.3 28.3 4.3 18.7 7.0 18.5
2012-10-09 6.6 23.8 5.7 25.6 6.9 31.1 5.4 27.5 6.1 17.4 8.4 17.9
2012-10-16 6.7 22.9 4.7 26.6 7.3 29.3 5.2 26.3 6.8 15.7 8.0 16.6
2012-10-23 7.5 20.4 5.1 24.4 9.1 25.9 5.5 23.7 7.2 14.0 9.3 14.3
2012-10-30 8.5 17.2 5.5 21.6 11.4 22.0 5.5 20.9 8.6 10.3 9.3 10.3
2012-11-06 8.3 14.8 5.1 18.7 12.4 20.3 5.1 20.8 7.9 9.6 8.5 8.6
2012-11-13 7.3 15.1 5.4 17.2 11.5 19.3 4.6 21.7 5.2 10.4 6.7 8.7
2012-11-20 6.3 16.8 5.1 18.2 9.4 20.0 4.1 24.4 4.7 10.8 6.1 8.9
2012-11-27 6.0 17.2 5.0 18.7 7.3 21.2 4.9 25.5 4.4 10.8 7.4 8.9
2012-12-04 6.2 17.2 4.8 20.1 5.8 21.8 5.8 25.7 5.5 9.9 7.5 8.6
2012-12-11 6.5 16.3 4.3 19.3 5.5 21.0 6.1 24.0 6.9 7.9 9.1 6.3
2012-12-18 6.7 16.6 3.6 23.2 5.8 24.0 7.1 27.1 6.5 7.8 8.0 6.0
2012-12-25 6.4 17.7 3.0 25.6 5.8 24.4 6.8 28.8 5.4 7.5 7.4 5.8
2013-01-01 6.2 18.6 2.8 25.9 6.1 23.1 7.1 28.9 3.6 7.3 7.7 5.6
2013-01-08 6.4 19.0 2.7 24.5 6.0 19.8 7.1 27.6 4.4 8.0 7.5 6.6
2013-01-15 6.5 17.5 3.5 22.2 5.9 16.3 6.8 25.5 4.6 8.2 8.5 7.2
2013-01-22 6.9 15.6 4.4 20.2 6.3 14.3 7.0 23.9 5.5 8.3 8.5 7.6
2013-01-29 6.9 15.0 4.2 16.8 5.8 11.0 6.5 20.7 7.7 8.4 7.6 7.9
2013-02-05 7.0 14.6 4.2 18.2 6.4 12.3 6.8 21.1 8.1 9.5 7.1 9.2
2013-02-12 6.8 16.2 3.4 22.2 6.4 16.1 6.9 23.6 7.8 9.4 7.1 9.1
2013-02-19 6.4 18.5 2.4 25.6 6.2 19.9 6.8 25.7 7.0 11.0 7.4 10.8
2013-02-26 6.6 20.8 3.4 31.1 6.3 26.0 7.0 30.0 6.3 13.7 8.6 13.6
2013-03-05 6.7 22.7 4.7 32.0 5.2 27.8 7.0 30.1 6.7 13.9 9.3 14.0
2013-03-12 6.8 23.3 5.8 32.1 4.7 28.9 7.1 29.7 6.8 14.3 9.0 14.6
2013-03-19 7.2 23.1 7.0 31.5 5.1 29.1 7.4 29.4 6.8 12.3 9.1 12.8
2013-03-26 7.5 21.7 7.3 27.8 6.0 26.5 7.8 26.4 6.7 12.3 9.0 12.9
2013-04-02 7.1 20.9 6.9 26.5 6.4 25.8 7.5 25.6 5.2 12.6 8.4 12.9
2013-04-09 7.3 19.4 6.8 24.2 7.4 23.6 6.8 24.1 5.7 13.2 9.2 12.6
2013-04-16 7.8 17.9 6.9 22.7 7.7 21.6 6.7 22.2 7.2 11.6 10.1 10.5
2013-04-23 7.9 17.6 7.0 23.6 7.3 22.4 6.6 22.5 8.4 12.6 9.5 11.1
2013-04-30 8.2 17.6 7.2 24.1 7.4 22.9 6.8 22.2 9.5 12.2 9.2 10.6
2013-05-07 7.8 17.9 6.8 24.4 5.6 23.0 6.9 20.1 9.9 12.1 8.3 10.3
2013-05-14 7.4 19.2 6.7 27.0 4.4 25.1 6.9 19.3 10.2 12.4 7.8 10.2
2013-05-21 6.6 20.7 6.3 29.2 4.1 28.2 7.0 19.6 7.7 13.4 7.6 10.7
2013-05-28 6.7 21.3 6.3 31.3 5.4 32.2 7.0 20.8 6.9 13.8 8.1 10.9
2013-06-04 7.0 22.6 6.6 31.4 7.2 35.6 7.2 22.0 6.3 13.7 8.4 11.2
2013-06-11 7.3 23.3 6.8 29.9 8.5 36.8 7.2 22.9 6.4 13.9 8.1 11.8
2013-06-04 7.0 22.6 6.6 31.4 7.2 35.6 7.2 22.0 6.3 13.7 8.4 11.2
2013-06-11 7.3 23.3 6.8 29.9 8.5 36.8 7.2 22.9 6.4 13.9 8.1 11.8
2013-06-18 8.5 22.7 7.5 29.4 9.9 36.5 7.4 23.5 9.0 13.0 8.2 11.5
2013-06-25 8.7 22.2 7.5 29.0 10.4 34.3 7.6 23.4 8.8 12.4 8.3 11.5
2013-07-02 8.8 21.4 7.8 27.3 10.9 29.8 7.7 21.4 7.7 11.7 8.1 11.0
2013-07-09 8.6 21.3 7.6 27.5 10.8 26.9 7.5 21.2 7.5 12.1 7.2 11.7
2013-07-16 7.9 19.3 7.3 24.9 9.3 21.9 7.2 18.2 6.3 12.1 6.9 11.9
2013-07-23 7.8 18.3 8.0 23.9 8.0 20.3 7.0 17.8 7.0 12.7 7.4 12.5
2013-07-30 7.9 17.5 8.2 24.0 7.4 19.6 7.1 18.0 8.0 14.0 8.0 13.8
2013-08-06 7.6 17.4 8.2 23.6 6.2 19.4 6.9 18.2 7.1 14.5 9.0 14.4
2013-08-13 7.8 16.4 8.4 22.8 6.2 18.9 7.2 17.9 6.8 13.4 9.7 13.2
2013-08-20 7.9 16.1 8.0 23.0 6.9 18.6 7.3 17.8 6.6 12.7 8.8 12.7
2013-08-27 7.8 16.2 8.0 20.5 6.8 16.7 7.4 16.4 6.6 11.3 8.0 11.5
2013-09-03 7.9 15.2 8.1 19.5 7.2 16.4 7.3 16.5 6.9 11.4 8.1 11.7
2013-09-10 8.0 14.6 7.8 18.9 7.6 16.7 7.3 17.3 7.5 10.4 8.8 10.8
2013-09-17 8.2 14.0 7.6 17.7 7.1 15.6 7.9 16.7 7.2 9.1 9.1 9.4
2013-09-24 8.6 12.7 7.2 19.3 7.8 17.1 8.1 18.0 7.8 9.1 9.7 9.4
2013-10-01 8.8 12.1 7.0 18.4 8.4 16.3 8.6 16.8 7.4 7.3 9.2 7.9
2013-10-08 8.5 12.2 6.7 18.9 8.5 17.2 8.4 17.1 7.4 5.9 8.1 6.6
2013-10-15 7.8 12.5 6.2 18.2 7.5 17.8 7.6 17.2 7.3 5.1 7.0 6.1
2013-10-22 7.3 13.2 5.9 18.8 7.3 20.0 7.4 18.8 6.9 5.1 6.8 6.3
2013-10-29 7.3 13.9 5.7 18.1 7.8 20.1 6.9 19.1 7.6 5.1 6.7 6.3
2013-11-05 7.8 13.6 5.9 18.8 8.9 21.3 7.2 20.8 8.4 5.7 7.3 6.9
2013-11-12 7.8 14.5 6.0 18.5 9.5 21.2 7.4 21.2 7.6 6.0 7.4 7.0
2013-11-19 7.6 16.2 6.1 21.9 7.7 24.7 7.3 25.6 8.3 5.9 6.6 7.0
2013-11-26 7.6 17.8 5.8 23.7 7.2 26.9 7.9 28.3 8.8 6.8 6.6 7.8
2013-12-03 7.0 19.9 4.9 24.8 6.1 28.1 7.7 30.5 7.3 5.9 6.1 6.9
2013-12-10 7.3 20.2 4.5 24.3 6.1 27.8 7.9 30.9 8.3 6.2 6.9 7.0
2013-12-17 7.8 18.9 4.3 22.2 8.2 24.6 7.8 28.9 8.0 6.1 8.0 6.4
2013-12-24 7.2 18.4 4.7 22.3 7.6 22.9 7.7 28.5 5.6 6.8 7.6 6.5
2013-12-31 7.5 18.1 5.7 23.0 8.1 22.0 8.1 28.3 6.3 8.0 7.6 7.1
2014-01-07 7.7 16.4 5.2 20.8 7.6 18.6 7.4 25.3 4.7 8.1 6.3 7.4
2014-01-14 7.3 16.7 5.5 21.2 6.8 19.7 7.6 25.6 4.1 8.7 5.8 8.1
2014-01-21 7.9 16.3 5.2 20.1 7.0 19.4 7.6 24.3 6.4 8.1 6.6 7.7
2014-01-28 7.9 15.6 6.6 20.1 6.7 20.1 8.7 24.1 7.8 6.9 7.4 6.7
2014-02-04 7.6 16.1 5.5 20.0 6.7 21.3 8.0 24.2 8.2 6.5 8.1 6.7
2014-02-11 7.3 16.4 5.0 16.9 6.1 18.0 8.0 20.7 7.8 6.5 7.6 7.3
2014-02-18 7.0 15.0 4.6 16.4 6.7 17.7 7.9 20.3 6.6 7.2 7.6 8.7
2014-02-25 6.5 14.3 4.3 12.5 6.5 14.3 7.8 16.8 5.1 8.2 7.4 10.2
2014-03-04 6.3 14.1 4.0 11.8 6.7 13.3 7.2 15.0 5.0 9.1 7.4 11.6
2014-03-11 6.7 12.6 4.7 14.0 7.3 16.0 7.1 16.0 5.3 9.1 8.8 11.2
2014-03-18 7.1 13.3 5.9 15.3 6.5 17.9 7.6 15.7 6.3 8.5 9.6 10.4
2014-03-25 7.7 14.3 6.8 19.7 7.4 22.1 7.8 18.0 6.6 8.4 9.6 9.7
2014-04-01 8.1 15.1 8.3 21.5 7.3 24.1 8.4 18.9 7.0 8.4 9.4 8.7
2014-04-08 8.1 16.6 8.3 22.4 8.1 24.5 8.5 19.0 6.8 9.5 8.4 9.3
2014-04-15 7.8 18.2 8.5 23.7 9.0 24.9 8.4 20.3 5.8 11.1 7.1 11.0
2014-04-22 7.8 18.9 8.6 24.4 8.5 25.2 8.6 21.3 5.7 11.5 7.2 12.1
2014-04-29 8.0 20.0 8.7 26.0 9.3 26.1 8.7 23.0 5.9 12.2 8.2 13.2
2014-05-06 8.4 20.3 9.0 26.7 9.6 26.3 8.8 23.7 6.4 12.3 9.4 14.0
2014-05-13 8.7 19.8 8.4 27.4 9.9 26.0 8.5 23.5 7.4 11.5 10.0 13.3
2014-05-20 8.6 19.6 8.1 27.2 9.7 25.2 8.2 22.9 8.0 11.0 9.6 12.3
2014-05-27 8.0 19.4 7.7 27.2 7.9 24.8 7.8 22.5 8.0 10.8 8.4 12.1
2014-06-03 7.7 18.8 7.4 26.4 7.4 23.9 7.7 21.4 8.1 10.6 8.1 11.3
2014-06-10 7.4 19.4 7.3 26.4 6.9 24.3 7.6 22.0 7.7 11.2 7.8 11.3
2014-06-17 7.3 19.8 7.1 26.9 6.8 24.7 7.3 23.0 7.6 10.8 7.7 10.7
2014-06-24 7.8 19.9 7.3 28.5 8.6 25.7 7.7 24.8 7.6 11.0 8.0 10.5
2014-07-01 7.8 20.7 6.9 29.1 9.3 25.1 7.3 25.8 6.9 11.3 7.8 10.7
2014-07-08 8.2 20.0 7.7 28.0 10.0 24.0 7.7 25.6 7.1 10.8 8.2 10.3
2014-07-15 8.6 19.4 7.6 27.9 11.4 23.8 7.8 26.4 6.9 12.2 8.9 11.6
2014-07-22 8.4 19.0 7.3 26.2 11.2 22.4 7.1 25.6 7.2 11.6 8.7 11.3
2014-07-29 8.3 18.4 7.9 24.5 9.9 21.5 7.4 24.6 7.1 11.1 8.3 11.0
2014-08-05 7.9 18.2 7.6 24.6 8.9 21.6 7.2 24.4 7.2 10.4 8.1 10.4
2014-08-12 8.0 18.4 8.1 25.1 9.7 21.8 7.3 24.4 7.8 10.3 7.6 10.5
2014-08-19 8.6 17.8 8.3 25.2 10.5 22.3 7.3 24.2 7.0 10.1 7.8 10.4
2014-08-26 8.6 18.6 8.1 25.9 11.4 23.4 6.9 24.5 7.5 11.3 7.2 11.6
2014-09-02 8.4 19.5 7.9 26.6 11.8 24.5 6.8 24.7 7.4 12.2 7.0 12.5
2014-09-09 8.5 19.6 7.6 26.4 10.1 25.2 7.1 24.1 7.6 13.4 7.5 13.3
2014-09-16 8.0 20.1 8.2 25.4 8.5 25.4 7.6 22.9 7.7 13.4 7.8 13.3
2014-09-23 8.2 19.3 8.3 24.1 7.8 24.8 8.0 21.8 7.8 13.8 8.1 13.7
2014-09-30 8.1 19.2 8.6 22.2 7.5 24.4 7.9 21.6 7.3 14.3 8.0 14.2
2014-10-07 8.4 18.1 9.2 20.2 9.2 23.7 7.6 20.8 7.2 14.5 8.9 14.9
2014-10-14 8.8 17.0 8.6 17.9 11.0 22.1 7.7 19.2 8.0 13.2 9.6 13.9
2014-10-21 9.2 15.7 9.2 17.7 12.4 23.0 7.7 20.4 8.8 14.5 9.3 15.4
2014-10-28 9.6 13.4 8.5 16.5 13.8 21.1 8.0 18.8 9.2 12.5 9.6 13.5
2014-11-04 9.3 15.2 8.1 18.5 12.3 22.2 8.4 19.9 9.4 11.5 8.9 12.3
2014-11-11 9.2 16.2 8.3 19.7 10.5 21.9 8.7 20.2 9.9 10.6 7.5 11.1
2014-11-18 9.2 16.4 8.4 22.4 10.7 22.9 8.8 21.4 9.1 11.0 8.5 11.3
2014-11-25 9.2 16.8 9.4 22.7 10.9 22.7 8.7 21.4 9.4 10.8 8.3 11.0
2014-12-02 9.4 16.8 9.4 22.9 11.8 22.4 8.8 22.2 9.1 13.1 8.5 12.9
2014-12-09 9.7 15.7 9.9 19.4 13.2 19.6 8.8 20.1 8.9 11.5 9.4 11.1
 

Source: NRCan

Crude Oil Overview

Global Crude Oil Prices Continue to Push Downward

For the week ending December 5, 2014, light crude oil prices averaged between $429/m3 and $503/m3, (US$60 to US$70 per barrel). Prices for the light crude dropped, compared to last week, in the range of $30/m3 to $40/m3 (US$4.62 to US$6.14 per barrel).

Compared to last year at this time, Brent crude oil prices dropped by $245/m3 (US$41 per barrel), while WTI prices declined by $166/m3 (US$29 per barrel) and Canadian light crude oil decreased by $74/m3 (US$15 per barrel). Western Canadian Select prices averaged $362/m3 (US$51 per barrel), down $29/m3 (US$4 per barrel) from the previous week, and $77/m3 (US$15 per barrel) compared to last year.

According to Bloomberg news Saudi Arabia reduced its January prices for the U.S.  by 10 to 90 US cents per barrel and in Asia by $1.50 to $1.90 US per barrel. The discount is the deepest in at least 14 years for Asia. 

Analysts are speculating that this could mean lower oil prices for a longer period. In Canada, lower crude oil prices means Alberta’s economy would suffer while central Canada will enjoy lower energy costs and the benefits of a currency sliding with the oil prices.

Figure 6: Crude Oil Price Comparisons

Crude Oil Price Comparison

 
Text version

Figure 6

This graph shows crude oil prices for Edmonton Par (Canadian Light Sweet after May 1, 2014), WTI, Brent and WCS. The average weekly prices for the period ending December 5, 2014, were $429/cubic metres, $481/cubic metres, $503/cubic metres and $362/cubic metres for the Canadian Light, WTI, Brent and WCS, respectively. Please note that as of May 1, 2014, the Edmonton Par crude oil prices are discontinued and replaced with the Canadian Light Sweet, a blend traded daily on the Net Energy Index and considered a benchmark crude for the Canadian crude market.

Dates Edmonton Par Prices
(Canadian Light Sweet after May 1, 2014)
WTI Brent WCS
01/12 608.11 639.88 709.45 551.13
02/12 594.50 640.89 750.59 520.48
03/12 538.60 663.34 780.71 468.90
04/12 528.21 644.60 751.91 439.53
05/12 548.81 601.64 704.10 477.03
06/12 507.78 532.76 618.43 429.13
07/12 477.07 560.69 659.07 408.58
08/12 544.82 587.49 707.75 430.74
09/12 570.15 582.08 697.56 481.00
10/12 578.61 555.66 694.60 496.00
11/12 539.87 543.52 686.30 454.40
12/12 467.14 549.56 680.33 360.23
01/13 549.97 592.14 699.83 387.55
02/13 553.76 605.29 736.06 370.93
03/13 560.66 598.93 705.36 430.10
04/13 571.20 590.06 663.78 441.27
05/13 598.81 608.31 662.59 519.16
06/13 577.25 630.51 680.52 489.10
07/13 664.03 685.36 703.73 592.16
08/13 665.21 697.44 722.47 595.65
09/13 647.06 691.84 723.16 543.60
10/13 592.41 655.54 713.92 483.77
11/13 511.65 620.13 711.21 413.23
12/13 524.69 655.42 740.65 394.48
01/14 561.87 651.27 735.43 452.06
02/14 665.35 699.89 756.56 566.93
03/14 655.67 701.90 752.47 554.81
04/14 647.62 704.92 747.57 550.77
05/14 652.85 697.62 748.13 566.87
06/14 665.50 715.93 762.22 589.57
07/14 629.45 690.70 730.08 558.81
08/14 606.25 660.32 710.46 507.84
09/14 608.92 644.03 681.65 515.00
10/14 551.84 594.78 621.20 497.90
October 31, 2014 517.08 572.71 607.68 469.65
November 7, 2014 532.84 559.83 596.45 441.76
November 14, 2014 475.07 544.79 571.64 429.59
November 21, 2014 469.56 536.30 562.43 420.11
November 28, 2014 458.63 514.70 543.49 391.19
December 5, 2014 428.91 480.87 503.49 362.34
 

Sources: NRCan

Changes in Crude Oil Prices
Crude Oil Types Week Ending:
2014-12-05
Change From:
Previous Week
Change From:
Last Year
$Can/
m3
$US/
bbl
$Can/
m3
$US/
bbl
$Can/
m3
$US/
bbl
Canadian Light 428.91 59.92 -29.72 -4.62 -74.33 -15.14
WTI 480.87 67.18 -33.83 -5.25 -165.55 -29.24
Brent 503.49 70.34 -40.00 -6.14 -245.43 -41.37
WCS 362.34 50.62 -28.85 -4.43 -76.77 -14.87
 

Source: NRCan

Growing Diesel Demand Forecast

According to the International Energy Agency’s 2014 World Energy Outlook world gasoline use in transportation will grow by 10% from 22-million barrels a day in 2014 to 24.2-million b/d in the early 2030s then fall back slightly through 2040, but diesel demand will jump by 37% from 18-million b/d to 24.6-million in 2040, becoming the world’s dominant transportation oil product. 

The shift from gasoline ascendancy to diesel ascendancy in transportation is due largely to the fact that gasoline is used almost exclusively in road transport, whereas diesel predominates in the fast-growing road freight sector and in rail and marine transportation. 

Gasoline demand will be driven by a more than doubling of the passenger light-duty vehicle fleet to 1.9-billion in 2040, but demand growth will be restrained by the increasing application of fuel economy standards, not only in North America and Europe, but also in China, India, and other emerging markets concerned about oil dependence.  Diesel demand will be propelled by strong growth in road freight transport, especially in developing countries. 

Source: Ontario Ministry of Energy Fuel & Vehicle Report, Hart Energy Downstream Busines

Supplement

North American Natural Gas Market: 2014-2015 Heating Season Outlook

Every year, Natural Resources Canada produces an outlook for natural gas prices over the heating season.

For the current winter heating season, running from November 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015, consumers can expect relatively low natural gas prices compared to historical averages and also relative to competing heating fuels.

In Canada, natural gas is used by residential and commercial users as a source of space heating, water heating, clothes drying, and cooking. More than half of Canadian homes and 80% of Canadian businesses rely on natural gas as their space heating fuel.

An average of industry consultants’ forecasts suggests Alberta wholesale natural gas prices (AECO) could average $3.93 per Gigajoule (GJ) or $0.15/m3 over the coming heating season. By comparison over the past decade, natural gas averaged $5.32/GJ, auto propane averaged $25.04/GJ and furnace oil averaged $23.61/GJ. Note that natural gas prices are wholesale prices – prices at the retail level will be higher, reflecting distribution charges, taxes, and other costs.

Main factors affecting natural gas prices for the 2014-2015 heating season include:

  • abundant supply,
  • above average input to storage,
  • cyclical demand,
  • declining exports of natural gas to the U.S.,
  • normal temperatures and,
  • a modest economic growth.

The full North American Natural Gas Market 2014-2015 Heating Season Outlook.

Download the report

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