Consumers to get another break at the pumps
Numbers show interruption to gasoline

Media release

Conception Bay South, NL, November 11, 2008- Consumers in Newfoundland and Labrador should see another break at the pumps this coming Thursday that should bring prices under a buck a litre in most areas of the province, that’s according to George Murphy of the Consumer Group for Fair Gas prices.

“Oil has continued to trade down and that has also been reflected in lower commodity prices, especially for gasoline in the face of weakening demand for the product. Continuing bad economic news and good inventory builds has played into the numbers and that means that gasoline consumers should see a drop of approximately 4.7 cents a litre at the pumps this Thursday morning, if the numbers are right.

“Stove oils and diesels continue to show drops of almost 3.0 and 3.6 cents a litre respectively but it is harder to predict the heating oil numbers with the advent of the winter heating oil mix. A drop is possible there though, in the light of the drops in the market. Consumers should take a ‘wait and see’ approach and gear their purchases after this Thursday accordingly.

“It’s been well over two years since the last time consumers have seen 97 cents a litre in the immediate St. John’s area and it should come as welcome news, should it come to be realized. Just because we are going to see prices drop below a buck a litre doesn’t mean that consumers are good to buy as much as possible however. Consumers should still conserve as much as possible as any consumption can have the opposite effect and help to support pricing rather than see a continuing slide in prices.

OPEC cuts not deep enough?
“Look for OPEC to cut further into their self-imposed production cuts this coming December as oil prices have continued to slide. I expect OPEC to step in and further deepen their cuts by at least 750,000 barrels at their next meeting. That would probably be enough to support pricing at its current level amidst the latest round of bad economic news this past week. OPEC will attempt to put restraint on output and try to influence world pricing.

Government should extend wood pellet rebate program
‘While government has introduced a wood pellet stove rebate program, government should extend the program to include new and advanced technology woodstoves that have become more fuel efficient over the last ten years. Most wood stoves have been improved in recent years that burn wood fuel longer than previously. We also have a small wood supply industry here that is sustainable and we need to provide the incentive to consumers to improve their energy efficiency by providing funding for energy efficient wood stoves. Just because it may be a new industry doesn’t mean that it should be given “carte blanche’ to the wood fuel market. Competition helps to keep pricing down to the consumer and we need to see some of the older technology wood stoves removed to conserve on wood resources as well.

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For more information, contact;

George Murphy
Group researcher/Member
Consumer Group for Fair Gas Prices
gasprices@hotmail.com