The latest: January 15, 2013

Gasoline trades lower on mid-west pressure and dropping demand

Media release

Conception Bay South, NL, January 15, 2013- Consumers in Newfoundland and Labrador can expect to see a slight downwards adjustment to gasoline prices this Thursday morning when the Public Utilities Board re-adjusts prices. That news comes from George Murphy, group researcher and member of the Consumer Group for Fair Gas Prices.

Market pressure

“There’s a lot of pressure downwards on gasoline this week as demand for gasoline remains tepid amidst world economic data. While we’re seeing some signs of increasing oil prices, we’re not seeing solid demand growth that goes along with it. Inventories have been building in spite of a slight increase in oil prices”, Murphy said. “I don’t expect oil to keep climbing either. Already, we’re seeing some signs of inflation coming out of China, and that may serve to cool things a little. It’s widely believed that oil prices may have gained too much value in the interim and there stands to be a price correction downwards.

Price changes

“For this week, I expect heating and stove oils to drop by just 18/100ths of a cent. Diesel fuel shows no change in price for this week. However, keep in mind that I can’t track kerosene that is used as a winter blending agent in the distillate fuels. Gasoline numbers are a little better. Both fuels measured are showing a drop in price to consumers is on the way, with regular gasoline to drop by 1.9 cents a litre and reformulated blends dropping by 2.0 cents a litre.

What’s ahead

“Enter onto the stage, the bargaining set to begin over another fiscal cliff in the United States, this time over the US’s debt ceiling. Lawmakers in the US are now talking about the possible default of the US on its debt that is hitting the $16.4 trillion dollar mark with a credit deadline of the last week of February when it’s expected to run dry. In the meantime, the World Bank is cutting its growth forecast by a few more tenths as developed countries economic growth slows. They’ve cut their forecast to 2.4 percent from the previous three percent. Added up, that’s a lot of oil still going unused”.

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For more information, contact;

George Murphy

Group researcher/Member

Consumer Group for Fair Gas Prices

Twitter: @GeorgeMurphyMHA