Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Price changes for Thursday, February 27th, 2014



Hi to all,

All numbers are based on six days data out of seven needed this week.

Here’s what I have for price changes this week. Keep in mind that the numbers for heating oil and diesel I think are still going to be way off with the addition of the winter blend of kerosene in the mix. I can’t track it, so, those numbers can only be used as a rough indicator.

The gasoline numbers should be still close however.

·         Heating and stove oils add 1.9 cents a litre.
·         Diesel fuel adds 3.3 cents a litre, and…
·         Gasoline shows an added 2.2 cents a litre at the pumps.

Gasoline continues to rise

It’s not a pretty picture being painted by the rise in gas prices the last few weeks, with gasoline prices showing steady rates of increases all well ahead of the traditional summer driving season. My past records indicate that the rise in gasoline prices ahead of the traditional start of the US summer driving season starting in mid-May, would experience a run-up in basic numbers usually at the end of March month. But this year is now the second year that we have seen a run-up in fuel prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange during the late January and February time-frame. What that is doing is giving gasoline prices a higher starting point for further price increases to occur during the early summer season, and that has the potential for a host of problems with transportation costs. That is probably a strong reason why everything in the province saw an adjusted inflation rate that surpassed the national average by an added percentage point to rest at 2.5%.

What’s needed to give pricing relief?
Besides consumers practicing conservation, we need to see an increase in refining capacity, and coupled with good strong builds in inventories. While they may sit right now at close to the same level they were this time last year, a slight improvement in the US economy has added some upwards pressures.

Rising transportation costs were already reflected in an increase to Marine Atlantic transportation charges a few weeks ago, with the company increasing rates by an added 3%. No doubt, those added costs will be passed down to everything from tourist traffic to consumer goods shipped in via truck. The federal government needs to mandate extra funding to Marine Atlantic so we can be insulated from increasing energy costs, but it makes one wonder why prices went up for us in the first place, if you consider that the new boats were supposed to be more energy efficient!

That’s it for this week!

Regards,

George Murphy
Twitter: @GeorgeMurphyMHA

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