Slight changes to the numbers
Consumers will see small increases to prices this week

Media release

Conception Bay South, NL, September 14, 2010- “While other centers have seen substantial increases to consumer prices this past week, there’s really nothing to get alarmed about in my numbers”. That’s from George Murphy, group researcher with the Consumer Group for Fair Gas Prices.

“Consumers here in Newfoundland and Labrador will see some moderate price changes this week as a result of the upward increase in refined commodity prices, but there’s certainly nothing that other regions have been dealing with. The increase in value of the Canadian dollar against the US greenback has absorbed a lot of the shock of any large increase this week. I expect heating, stove oils and diesel fuel to increase by a half cent a litre, while gasoline shows a modest 1.1 cent a litre increase.

“While the US dollar lost value, investors turned their eyes toward oil and its refined commodities as a hedge against inflation, and increased their value. The Canadian dollar also gained value, especially as the Bank of Canada increased interest rates, also spurring investment in the Canuck Buck. It is also tied close to commodities like oil and gold, so the Canadian dollar was also pulled upwards as oil and gold increased in value this week.

Fast facts:

• Oil also increased this week when an Enbridge pipeline in the US mid-west ruptured, shutting out almost 670,000 barrels per day from Canada.

• OPEC secretary general Abdalla Al-Bahdri says its member nations are comfortable with oil prices between $70 and $80 US a barrel. If oil stays there in the coming weeks, they won’t intervene with production cuts. OPEC currently produces close on 26.8 million if you add in over-production on their self-imposed quota of 24.85 million barrels of crude per day.

• Canada exported just over 2.2 million barrels of crude oil per day to the United States, according to Energy Information Administration information.

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For more information, contact;

George Murphy
Group researcher