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Fuel Focus, May 3, 2013

Table of Contents


National Overview

Canadian Retail Gasoline Prices Up 1 Cent per Litre from Last Week

Higher world crude oil and domestic wholesale prices caused the average Canadian retail gasoline price to increase to $1.26 per litre for the week ending April 30, 2013, up by 1 cent per litre from the previous week.

Diesel fuel prices decreased by 3 cents per litre from last week to $1.24 per litre. This represents a decrease of 5 cents per litre from the same time last year. Furnace oil prices also declined to $1.16 cents per litre compared to the previous week, down 4 cents per litre from a year ago.

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

Crude Oil and Regular Gasoline Price Comparison (National Average)

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 April 30, 2013 at 126.3 cents per litre, excluding taxes at 87.0 cents per litre, Edmonton Par at 55.8 cents per litre and Brent at 65.5 cents per litre.

Dates Gasoline at retail Excluding Taxes Edmonton Par crude Brent crude
03/01/2012 120.6 82.7 60.5 69.6
10/01/2012 122.9 84.4 61.7 72.1
17/01/2012 123.0 84.4 61.8 71.8
24/01/2012 123.3 84.8 61.0 70.4
31/01/2012 124.7 86.0 59.7 69.7
07/02/2012 122.7 84.2 56.1 70.2
14/02/2012 126.7 87.8 57.1 73.6
21/02/2012 127.0 88.1 58.9 75.1
28/02/2012 131.7 92.4 62.6 73.4
06/03/2012 127.3 88.5 65.6 77.5
13/03/2012 131.0 91.8 54.9 77.9
20/03/2012 132.8 93.4 51.6 78.2
27/03/2012 132.7 93.3 51.7 78.1
03/04/2012 135.1 95.2 48.9 78.3
10/04/2012 136.4 96.4 50.8 77.5
17/04/2012 136.7 96.7 52.9 76.2
24/04/2012 132.0 92.6 53.4 73.9
01/05/2012 131.9 92.4 54.4 73.9
08/05/2012 129.5 90.3 58.1 73.0
15/05/2012 130.3 91.0 56.2 70.7
22/05/2012 128.5 89.4 54.2 70.2
29/05/2012 129.3 90.1 53.0 69.9
05/06/2012 126.8 88.0 50.0 66.8
12/06/2012 126.7 87.9 51.9 64.7
19/06/2012 126.8 87.9 52.1 62.6
26/06/2012 123.7 85.2 50.3 59.5
03/07/2012 123.1 84.5 50.3 60.0
10/07/2012 126.0 87.1 48.8 63.1
17/07/2012 128.0 88.8 46.0 64.3
24/07/2012 129.2 89.9 48.0 67.7
31/07/2012 127.3 88.2 47.6 67.4
07/08/2012 129.7 90.3 48.5 67.5
14/08/2012 131.0 91.2 53.6 70.3
21/08/2012 130.3 90.5 55.1 71.8
28/08/2012 130.7 90.9 56.9 72.1
04/09/2012 130.9 91.1 55.9 70.8
11/09/2012 132.2 92.2 57.3 70.4
18/09/2012 134.6 94.4 59.0 71.0
25/09/2012 128.9 89.4 56.7 68.6
02/10/2012 132.8 92.8 55.3 69.1
09/10/2012 133.0 93.0 57.2 68.6
16/10/2012 130.1 90.4 58.7 70.3
23/10/2012 124.3 85.3 59.6 70.5
30/10/2012 123.5 84.5 56.6 68.5
06/11/2012 121.6 82.7 57.0 68.3
13/11/2012 122.5 83.5 53.5 68.0
20/11/2012 122.2 83.2 52.7 68.6
27/11/2012 122.6 83.5 53.8 69.7
04/12/2012 120.9 81.9 54.2 69.0
11/12/2012 117.3 78.7 49.4 67.8
18/12/2012 117.7 79.5 44.1 67.1
25/12/2012 119.0 80.3 44.8 67.7
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
23/04/2013 125.1 85.9 54.8 64.4
30/04/2013 126.3 87.0 55.8 65.5

Figure 2: Weekly Regular Gasoline Prices
Weekly Regular Gasoline Prices

Text version - Figure 2

This graph shows the gasoline price trends from 2011 to 2013.

   2011    2012   2013
Gasoline at Retail Gasoline at Retail Gasoline at Retail
11-01-04 113.30 12-01-03 120.60 13-01-01 118.90
11-01-11 113.10 12-01-10 122.90 13-01-08 120.60
11-01-18 115.60 12-01-17 123.00 13-01-15 118.90
11-01-25 114.90 12-01-24 123.30 13-01-22 119.70
11-02-01 113.70 12-01-31 124.70 13-01-29 123.30
11-02-08 112.90 12-02-07 122.70 13-02-05 129.20
11-02-15 114.60 12-02-14 126.70 13-02-12 127.70
11-02-22 115.10 12-02-21 127.00 13-02-19 130.50
11-03-01 120.60 12-02-28 131.70 13-02-26 131.20
11-03-08 124.50 12-03-06 127.30 13-03-05 131.20
11-03-15 123.50 12-03-13 131.00 13-03-12 129.90
11-03-22 121.80 12-03-20 132.80 13-03-19 130.10
11-03-29 125.40 12-03-27 132.70 13-03-26 129.40
11-04-05 127.70 12-04-03 135.10 13-04-02 128.70
11-04-12 129.70 12-04-10 136.40 13-04-09 126.50
11-04-19 133.40 12-04-17 136.70 13-04-16 125.00
11-04-26 133.90 12-04-24 132.00 13-04-23 125.10
11-05-03 135.70 12-05-01 131.90 13-04-30 126.30
11-05-10 135.40 12-05-08 129.50 13-05-07  
11-05-17 130.90 12-05-15 130.30 13-05-14  
11-05-24 127.20 12-05-22 128.50 13-05-21  
11-05-31 129.90 12-05-29 129.30 13-05-28  
11-06-07 127.60 12-06-05 126.80 13-06-04  
11-06-14 127.30 12-06-12 126.70 13-06-11  
11-06-21 126.60 12-06-19 126.80 13-06-18  
11-06-28 124.50 12-06-26 123.70 13-06-25  
11-07-05 125.80 12-07-03 123.10 13-07-02  
11-07-12 127.90 12-07-10 126.00 13-07-09  
11-07-19 128.40 12-07-17 128.00 13-07-16  
11-07-26 128.10 12-07-24 129.20 13-07-23  
11-08-02 128.40 12-07-31 127.30 13-07-30  
11-08-09 125.50 12-08-07 129.70 13-08-06  
11-08-16 126.40 12-08-14 131.00 13-08-13  
11-08-23 126.00 12-08-21 130.30 13-08-20  
11-08-30 128.00 12-08-28 130.60 13-08-27  
11-09-06 128.60 12-09-04 130.90 13-09-03  
11-09-13 127.20 12-09-11 132.20 13-09-10  
11-09-20 124.90 12-09-18 134.60 13-09-17  
11-09-27 123.90 12-09-25 128.90 13-09-24  
11-10-04 123.40 12-10-02 132.80 13-10-01  
11-10-11 125.60 12-10-09 133.00 13-10-08  
11-10-18 126.40 12-10-16 130.10 13-10-15  
11-10-25 124.00 12-10-23 124.30 13-10-22  
11-11-01 121.90 12-10-30 123.50 13-10-29  
11-11-08 124.70 12-11-06 121.60 13-11-05  
11-11-15 123.00 12-11-13 122.50 13-11-12  
11-11-22 120.20 12-11-20 122.20 13-11-19  
11-11-29 119.20 12-11-27 122.60 13-11-26  
11-12-06 120.50 12-12-04 120.90 13-12-03  
11-12-13 118.30 12-12-11 117.30 13-12-10  
11-12-20 116.20 12-12-18 117.70 13-12-17  
11-12-27 119.00 12-12-25 119.00 13-12-24  
        13-12-31  
Table 1: Changes in Fuel Prices
¢/L Week of:
2013-04-30
Change from:
Previous  Week
Change from:
Last Year
Gasoline 126.3 +1.2 -5.6
Diesel 123.6 -2.8 -4.6
Furnace Oil 115.5 -2.0 -4.1

Source: NRCan

Recent Developments

  • Canada Top Crude Oil Supplier to the U.S.: Crude oil imports from the top five foreign suppliers to the United States—which in 2012 were Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Venezuela, and Iraq, in that order—accounted for almost 72% of total U.S. net crude oil imports, the highest proportion since 1997. Canadian crude oil imports by the United States averaged a record 2.4 million bbl/d, up 8% from their 2011 level. (Source: US EIA)
     
  • Canadian Eastern Refineries at Risk: Poor refining margins have Imperial Oil soliciting buyers for its Dartmouth refinery in Nova Scotia since last May. According to the Canadian Fuels Association, an industry body of the country’s refiners, while TransCanada Corp’s Energy East and Enbridge’s Line 9 reversal projects are welcome relief valves for the Canadian energy industry, they may do little to boost the prospects of some refineries.  However, Eastern refineries are more concerned with cost considerations relating the impact of environmental policies to reduce Canadians’ fuel consumption, reduce gasoline sulphur content, and reduce refinery emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases. The Association claims that at least five of the nine refineries in Central and Eastern Canada may become economically unviable because of weak margins and overcapacity. (Source: Financial Post, April 19, 2013)

Retail Gasoline Overview

The four-week average Canadian pump price in selected cities across Canada was $1.26 per litre for the period ending April 30, 2013. This represents a 9 cent-per-litre decrease compared to the same period in 2012.

For the period ending April 30, 2013, four-week average crude oil prices decreased 2 cents per litre to 61 cents per litre. The crude oil price component of gasoline is 1 cent per litre lower than at the same time last year.

Over the last two weeks, the average gasoline price decrease in the individual centres was nearly 2 cents per litre. Price fluctuations ranged between a decrease of 4.5 cents per litre in St. John’s to an increase of less than 1 cent per litre in Montreal.

The refining and marketing costs component remained almost unchanged at 26 cents per litre. Compared to a year ago, margins are down by 7 cents per litre.

Figure 3: Regular Gasoline Pump Prices in Selected Cities
Four-Week Average (April 4 to 30, 2013)

Regular Gasoline Pump Prices in Selected Cities Four-Week Average (January 1 to 22, 2013)

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 127.9 140.2 136.1 110.8 117.3 122.4 124.1 137.0 125.2 127.6 128.1 125.8 125.7
Crude (est.) 57.0 57.0 57.0 57.0 57.0 57.0 57.0 66.5 66.5 66.5 66.5 66.5 60.8
Federal Taxes 16.1 16.7 10.0 15.3 15.6 15.8 10.0 16.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 15.7
Provincial Tax 6.2 10.7 32.2 9.0 15.0 14.0 14.7 34.1 13.6 15.5 13.1 16.5 23.5
HST     6.5       14.3   14.4 16.6 15.7 14.5  
Refining & Marketing Costs & Margins 48.6 55.8 30.4 29.5 29.7 35.6 28.1 20.4 20.7 18.9 22.7 18.3 25.7

Source: NRCan
* Regulated Markets

Inventory Levels in the Canadian Petroleum Industry

To provide added flexibility to the distribution of petroleum products, refiners and marketers maintain inventories of the various products in strategic locations throughout the distribution chain. If supplies of imported or domestic crude oil were interrupted for any reason, or if the product distribution system failed, companies would rely on commercial inventories to meet short-term needs while alternate arrangements were being made.

Refiners also build up inventories of all products in advance of scheduled refinery maintenance (called turnarounds). Turnarounds can vary in frequency from annually to once every few years and sometimes require the refinery to be completely shut down for a period of several weeks. Refiners anticipate this by building up product stocks that can be used during the turnaround.

Refiners’ crude oil inventories fluctuate over a very narrow band and are less seasonal than product stocks. There are significant regional variations in crude oil stocks, with refiners in the West, who run domestic crude oil maintaining about 6 days of oil, and refiners in Eastern Canada who run imported crude oil averaging 14 days.

Wholesale Gasoline Prices

Wholesale gasoline prices ranged from 75 to 79 cents per litre in select centres for the week of April 25, 2013. Overall, compared to the previous week, Canadian and American centres recorded price decreases of less than 1 cent per litre to increases of nearly 3 cents per litre.

Changes in wholesale gasoline prices in Eastern markets of both Canada and the United States, when compared to the previous week, ranged from an increase of 1 cent per litre to a decline of less than 1 cent per litre. Prices for the period ended in the 75 to 77 cent-per-litre range.

Wholesale gasoline prices in Western centres increased in the range of 1 to 3 cents per litre and ended the period between 77 and 79 cents per litre.

In the last four weeks, wholesale prices in all Canadian and American selected centres have decreased in the range of 2 to 9 cents per litre.

Overall, wholesale gasoline prices in most markets are 3 to 9 cents per litre below last year’s level.

Figure 4: Wholesale Gasoline Prices
Rack Terminal Prices for Selected Canadian and American Cities Ending April 25, 2013
(Can ¢/L)

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 05-Jan-12 78.30 75.98 81.60 75.96 78.50 78.12 72.80 70.73 78.90 76.05
Thu 12-Jan-12 78.00 76.93 81.40 76.17 77.20 76.78 73.00 70.78 77.30 74.34
Thu 19-Jan-12 79.00 77.11 82.60 76.67 78.40 77.87 72.70 71.87 77.90 72.89
Thu 26-Jan-12 79.40 76.87 82.30 76.65 78.20 76.77 71.50 72.13 75.70 70.92
Thu 02-Feb-12 80.10 78.57 82.50 77.46 78.50 77.55 73.20 74.13 75.00 71.02
Thu 09-Feb-12 81.80 80.57 83.80 80.07 80.40 79.83 74.80 77.38 75.20 73.88
hu 16-Feb-12 82.70 81.17 84.60 80.70 81.10 80.53 75.20 78.68 79.10 80.62
Thu 23-Feb-12 84.20 83.12 84.50 83.26 83.30 82.83 78.30 81.53 86.30 87.84
Thu 01-Mar-12 83.00 82.67 82.10 83.10 81.20 80.92 77.20 81.51 83.70 83.24
Thu 08-Mar-12 83.20 81.93 83.40 82.01 82.20 79.67 79.00 84.37 84.20 86.03
Thu 15-Mar-12 85.30 81.51 85.40 81.64 84.60 83.41 81.40 85.85 89.10 84.33
Thu 22-Mar-12 87.30 83.23 86.30 83.69 86.10 85.62 82.00 87.65 90.50 88.72
Thu 9-Mar-12 89.60 85.57 89.40 85.29 88.10 86.11 82.30 88.42 91.10 89.74
Thu 05-Apr-12 91.80 85.57 91.00 86.50 90.90 88.65 83.50 86.17 88.00 86.61
Thu 2-Apr-12 88.90 86.73 89.00 86.24 89.60 87.79 82.50 85.65 87.50 85.43
Thu 19-Apr-12 85.80 82.15 85.40 81.69 86.00 83.66 80.10 80.61 85.20 84.31
Thu 26-Apr-12 83.30 82.09 83.90 81.75 84.00 82.15 79.60 81.72 84.40 84.04
Thu 03-May-12 81.50 82.57 84.00 79.72 83.80 80.81 79.90 78.77 86.00 88.50
Thu 10-May-12 81.20 83.82 83.10 80.79 83.80 81.50 79.40 79.14 91.40 97.78
Thu 17-May-12 79.10 85.05 80.60 78.79 81.50 81.63 78.50 77.97 89.20 95.59
Thu 24-May-12 79.90 85.98 82.80 78.04 82.20 80.07 78.60 78.09 89.10 97.99
Thu 31-May-12 79.30 86.07 80.90 76.24 80.80 79.07 80.80 76.64 91.60 94.29
Thu 07-Jun-12 75.90 85.72 78.70 74.45 78.40 76.04 80.50 77.57 88.60 76.45
Thu 14-Jun-12 75.00 75.71 76.30 74.07 77.10 74.98 80.80 82.24 87.00 69.43
Thu 21-Jun-12 70.90 73.99 74.20 71.22 74.80 73.12 81.40 74.20 83.60 67.29
Thu 28-Jun-12 71.10 73.37 74.30 70.57 76.80 71.79 79.20 70.40 83.30 70.25
Thu 05-Jul-12 74.00 76.84 77.10 74.49 77.70 74.13 76.50 76.50 82.30 73.89
Thu 12-Jul-12 77.00 79.06 79.90 75.64 79.70 77.17 78.90 77.33 82.00 75.98
Thu 19-Jul-12 78.70 80.51 81.90 77.65 82.80 78.00 79.80 79.34 82.50 79.29
Thu 26-Jul-12 74.10 78.00 78.20 75.33 79.30 73.91 79.50 75.41 79.70 74.08
Thu 02-Aug-12 77.50 81.71 81.50 77.89 81.70 78.15 79.90 80.06 81.00 78.57
Thu 09-Aug-12 81.80 82.28 85.00 80.00 85.20 80.22 81.90 80.55 82.50 84.38
Thu 16-Aug-12 82.10 82.18 84.50 80.04 85.60 82.22 83.80 81.19 83.80 86.04
Thu 23-Aug-12 82.50 82.70 85.10 80.56 84.90 82.09 82.40 83.57 82.50 83.89
Thu 30-Aug-12 85.60 82.23 85.50 81.71 85.20 84.70 83.10 83.91 80.50 83.35
Thu 06-Sep-12 86.00 82.67 84.60 81.65 84.30 84.61 82.40 86.24 79.70 83.15
Thu 13-Sep-12 90.80 83.28 88.60 81.81 88.60 87.08 86.50 85.28 79.50 78.61
Thu 20-Sep-12 82.80 84.03 80.80 79.82 80.50 81.33 83.60 85.93 77.30 79.04
Thu 27-Sep-12 87.70 84.38 88.40 84.06 85.30 85.30 86.30 83.65 80.70 85.58
Thu 04-Oct-12 87.30 84.45

 85.40

83.55 84.20 88.22

 85.00

81.73 85.90 88.43
Thu 11-Oct-12

 86.00

84.10

 87.00

81.16 86.50 83.98

 85.40

78.69 90.60 81.35
Thu 18-Oct-12 77.80 84.33 77.70 76.05 77.20 79.28 76.60 73.80 78.50 71.33
Thu 25-Oct-12 73.00 85.48 73.80 74.24 72.70 74.59 72.10 71.37 72.10 66.33
Thu 01-Nov-12 76.30 85.75 78.10 76.16 77.40 79.83 72.60 71.19 71.60 65.42
Thu 08-Nov-12 76.80 85.86 77.60 75.63 77.40 79.93 69.90 70.30 71.10 67.09
Thu 15-Nov-12 80.10 78.06 81.20 76.45 80.60 87.66 70.90 71.58 72.80 67.68
Thu 22-Nov-12 77.20 76.48 79.20 75.80 78.90 83.00 72.50 71.84 72.80 67.14
Thu 29-Nov-12 76.70 76.01 78.30 76.51 77.50 82.63 72.10 70.37 71.30 68.68
Thu 06-Dec-12 73.10 71.08 74.60 73.05 74.40 80.37 70.10 67.40 71.40 62.39
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 20-Dec-12 75.40 74.02 76.90 74.59 76.40 79.11 66.10 68.86 73.30 69.53
Thu 27-Dec-12 75.80 76.29 77.10 76.52 76.80 78.58 66.70 67.97 74.00 71.30
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

Sources: NRCan, Bloomberg Oil Buyers Guide

Gasoline Refining and Marketing Margins

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

Overall, refining margins have declined in the last six weeks, an indication that decreases in wholesale gasoline prices have been more significant than price decreases for crude oil. This reflects an adequate gasoline supply in the distribution system and the decrease in demand for gasoline.

Refining margins are 1 cent per litre higher at the national level, compared to the same period last year.

Nationally, marketing margins, defined as the pump price, excluding all taxes, minus the wholesale or rack price, rose to 8 cents per litre. However, this represents a 1 cent per litre decline from the same period last year. Marketing margins for the five centres registered between 6.8 and 9.5 cents per litre.

Figure 5: Gasoline Refining and Marketing Margins
Four-Week Rolling Average Ending April 30, 2013

_________ Refining Margin _______ Marketing Margin

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
2011-01-04 6.8 12.7 8.0 14.4 7.5 16.6 7.1 14.4 4.1 11.0 7.4 9.0
2011-01-11 6.8 13.2 7.6 14.8 8.1 17.5 7.0 15.4 2.9 11.1 6.9 8.8
2011-01-18 6.6 13.7 7.9 15.1 7.7 18.7 7.1 16.0 4.3 11.1 7.2 8.7
2011-01-25 6.9 14.1 8.2 15.6 7.8 19.2 7.0 16.1 6.7 10.3 7.7 7.9
2011-02-01 7.6 14.0 8.3 14.5 6.9 18.2 7.0 15.0 6.0 9.7 7.1 7.2
2011-02-08 7.3 13.1 8.6 15.1 6.9 18.7 7.0 15.3 5.9 9.0 7.3 6.4
2011-02-15 7.4 13.1 8.3 17.0 7.1 19.9 7.0 16.7 4.5 8.2 7.2 5.9
2011-02-22 7.2 13.6 7.9 17.7 6.7 20.1 7.0 17.2 2.1 7.2 6.6 4.9
2011-03-01 6.5 13.5 8.1 18.9 6.8 21.3 7.0 18.3 4.1 6.3 6.7 4.3
2011-03-08 6.9 13.8 8.3 18.3 6.8 21.2 7.0 17.8 5.9 6.8 6.4 4.9
2011-03-15 7.2 13.8 8.6 17.3 7.6 20.4 7.0 16.1 7.7 6.9 6.9 5.3
2011-03-22 7.7 13.1 8.4 17.0 7.8 19.3 7.0 15.0 7.6 7.7 7.0 6.4
2011-03-29 7.7 12.8 8.3 17.9 7.7 19.2 7.0 14.8 8.4 8.7 7.5 7.5
2011-04-05 7.8 13.2 8.1 17.4 6.1 18.2 7.0 14.2 7.8 8.8 7.0 7.9
2011-04-12 7.4 12.8 8.5 15.5 5.7 16.7 7.1 12.8 8.1 8.9 6.9 8.0
2011-04-19 7.4 11.9 8.9 14.4 4.9 17.0 7.1 13.9 10.4 9.6 6.6 8.8
2011-04-26 7.7 12.6 8.6 12.2 4.6 15.9 7.1 13.9 10.2 10.1 6.6 9.2
2011-05-03 7.6 12.5 8.9 12.9 6.6 17.0 7.0 16.0 10.1 11.6 7.2 10.9
2011-05-10 8.0 14.2 7.5 16.6 5.8 20.5 7.0 20.5 7.8 14.2 7.6 12.5
2011-05-17 7.3 17.8 8.3 18.3 8.1 22.1 7.0 21.4 7.7 14.1 9.3 12.2
2011-05-24 8.0 18.5 8.3 21.5 9.1 25.0 6.9 23.3 5.8 13.4 9.5 10.9
2011-05-31 7.9 19.7 8.1 22.6 7.8 26.1 7.0 23.5 5.3 12.3 8.5 9.2
2011-06-07 7.6 19.7 9.3 20.3 9.6 23.1 7.0 21.0 5.8 9.6 8.2 6.9
2011-06-14 8.3 17.0 8.4 20.3 7.8 22.3 7.0 20.9 4.6 9.0 6.8 6.3
2011-06-21 7.5 16.5 8.6 20.3 8.2 20.9 7.1 20.7 5.9 9.4 7.0 7.0
2011-06-28 7.8 16.3 8.3 20.5 9.9 19.0 7.0 20.3 6.6 8.5 8.4 6.3
2011-07-05 8.4 15.5 8.5 20.8 9.4 19.6 7.1 21.0 6.7 8.7 7.9 6.1
2011-07-12 8.2 15.9 8.3 20.6 9.5 20.2 7.1 21.6 6.8 9.7 7.2 6.7
2011-07-19 8.1 16.4 8.2 19.8 8.8 21.0 7.0 22.2 6.1 10.3 6.9 7.3
2011-07-26 7.6 16.9 8.1 19.7 7.7 22.5 7.1 23.0 5.3 11.4 6.7 8.5
2011-08-02 7.2 17.8 7.7 20.5 7.7 23.9 6.9 24.1 5.4 12.7 7.2 10.1
2011-08-09 7.1 18.9 7.5 22.0 9.3 24.1 6.9 24.5 7.1 12.4 9.2 10.0
2011-08-16 7.8 19.1 6.8 23.4 9.4 24.4 6.8 25.3 7.3 12.5 7.9 10.0
2011-08-23 7.8 19.6 6.5 24.5 8.7 25.5 6.8 25.8 7.6 12.3 7.6 9.7
2011-08-30 7.7 20.1 6.6 24.8 8.3 25.3 6.9 25.2 6.6 11.9 7.2 9.1
2011-09-06 7.5 19.7 6.5 24.6 6.4 25.8 6.9 25.2 4.4 12.0 5.8 9.4
2011-09-13 6.7 19.9 6.8 24.4 6.2 25.5 7.0 24.0 4.4 11.2 7.8 8.9
2011-09-20 6.8 19.2 7.2 25.1 7.5 24.1 6.9 22.7 4.7 10.5 8.1 8.3
2011-09-27 7.3 18.2 6.8 27.8 7.2 24.7 6.9 23.4 6.5 9.4 8.5 7.4
2011-10-04 7.6 18.4 7.0 29.0 6.9 24.2 6.9 22.7 7.8 9.0 8.2 6.7
2011-10-11 8.0 17.9 6.7 29.5 6.8 24.0 6.9 21.9 7.4 8.9 6.6 6.5
2011-10-18 7.7 17.6 7.0 29.0 6.7 23.5 6.9 21.5 6.8 9.3 6.5 6.9
2011-10-25 7.5 17.4 7.2 26.5 7.4 21.1 6.8 18.6 5.6 9.1 7.1 7.0
2011-11-01 7.4 15.7 7.3 23.8 7.7 19.0 6.8 16.6 4.9 8.6 7.7 6.4
2011-11-08 7.4 14.2 7.2 22.4 7.0 17.8 6.4 15.8 5.6 8.3 7.9 6.0
2011-11-15 7.3 13.4 7.5 19.5 7.2 15.0 7.0 13.1 7.2 7.1 8.4 4.8
2011-11-22 7.4 11.2 7.4 16.7 6.9 12.8 6.9 11.8 8.2 6.5 8.3 3.8
2011-11-29 7.0 10.1 6.6 14.6 6.6 10.7 6.8 10.6 8.2 6.3 7.6 3.4
2011-12-06 7.1 8.9 6.9 12.3 6.7 9.2 7.2 9.3 8.8 6.1 7.5 3.3
2011-12-13 7.3 7.6 6.2 12.2 6.0 10.1 6.6 10.3 6.7 6.7 6.8 3.7
2011-12-20 6.8 8.0 6.2 12.4 4.6 11.5 6.8 11.0 5.3 6.7 6.7 4.0
2011-12-27 6.4 9.1 6.8 14.0 4.3 13.5 7.0 12.6 3.7 7.3 6.5 4.8
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

Source: NRCan

Crude Oil Overview

Brent and WTI Price Differential Narrows while Edmonton Par Tracks WTI

For the week ending April 26, 2013, crude oil prices averaged between $553 and $655/m3 ($US86 to $US102 per barrel). Brent crude oil prices, used by East Coast refiners in Canada, moved upward $11/m3 ($US1.78 per barrel), while WTI crude oil prices rose $21/m3 ($US3.37 per barrel) for the week under review. The price differential between Brent and WTI stood at $67/m3 ($US11 per barrel), while Edmonton Par declined slightly by $1/m3 ($US0.08 per barrel) during the same period.

Global crude oil prices fluctuated moderately on report forecasts of lower demand for oil in the U.S and in China.

U.S. crude oil inventories remain high compared to the historical five-year range, further contributing to moderate prices. In turn, this helped moderate prices of refined petroleum products.

Uncertainties with respect to European economic conditions continue to create a drag on global economic renewal as reflected by lackluster oil demand. In the absence of a crisis in oil-producing regions of the world or significant weather events causing disruptions to oil infrastructures, oil prices may tend to fluctuate in the similar range seen in the first quarter of the year.

Figure 6: Crude Oil Price Comparisons
Crude Oil Price Comparisons

Text version - Figure 6

This graph shows crude oil prices for Edmonton Par, WTI and Brent. The average weekly prices for the period ending April 22, 2013, were $553/cubic metres, $587/cubic metres and $655/cubic metres for Edmonton Par, WTI and Brent, respectively.

Dates Edmonton Par Prices WTI Prices Brent Prices
01/11 525.08 559.18 601.95
02/11 525.75 556.16 645.23
03/11 609.96 632.59 703.16
04/11 696.77 662.59 741.59
05/11 634.91 617.17 697.06
06/11 614.21 591.76 699.64
07/11 599.18 585.28 701.96
08/11 554.74 533.58 679.51
09/11 578.01 538.55 696.18
10/11 585.88 554.72 702.66
11/11 636.41 627.49 713.92
12/11 615.54 633.97 693.85
01/12 608.11 639.88 709.45
02/12 594.50 640.89 750.59
03/12 538.60 663.34 780.71
04/12 528.21 644.60 751.91
05/12 548.81 601.64 704.10
06/12 507.78 532.76 618.43
07/12 477.07 560.69 659.07
08/12 544.82 587.49 707.75
09/12 570.15 582.08 697.56
10/12 578.61 555.66 694.60
11/12 539.87 543.52 686.30
12/12 467.14 549.56 680.33
01/13 549.97 592.14 699.83
02/13 553.76 605.29 736.06
03/13 560.66 598.93 705.36
April 1, 2013 596.84 606.47 688.62
April 8, 2013 579.11 596.33 669.72
April 15, 2013 554.37 566.43 644.40
April 22, 2013 553.17 587.44 655.10
Changes in Crude Oil Prices
Crude Oil Types Week Ending:
2013-04-26
Change From:
Previous Week Last Year
$Can/
m3
$US/
bbl
$Can/
m3
$US/
bbl
$Can/
m3
$US/
bbl
Edmonton Par 553.17 85.96 -1.20 -0.08 +11.67 -1.33
WTI 587.44 91.29 +21.01 +3.37 -56.50 -12.51
Brent 655.10 101.80 +10.70 +1.78 -84.34 -17.39

Source: NRCan

Global Demand for Oil Drops for the Third Straight Year

According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Oil Market Report (OMR), the IEA expects 2013 to be the third consecutive year of weak growth in demand, adding only 795,000 barrels per day (795 kb/d).

Relatively strong demand growth among non-OECD countries of 1.28 million barrels a day (mb/d) will be tempered by a contraction of 480 kb/d in OECD consumption, particularly in Europe, where it will shrink by 340 kb/d. European demand has not been this weak since 1985.

The weight of renewed pessimism for the global economic outlook led to a decline in oil futures prices in March. Weaker demand for crude oil, amid exceptionally deep seasonal maintenance at refineries, added to the pressure.

Overall for 2013, non-OPEC supplies are expected to grow by 1.1 mb/d to 54 mb/d as South Sudan resumes exports, other disruptions abate and North American growth continues. OPEC crude oil supply turned lower in March, falling 140 kb/d to 30 mb/d, in the wake of disruptions in Nigeria, Libya and Iraq and against a backdrop of seasonally weaker second-quarter refiner demand.

Source: IEA OMR


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