Here's what I have for this week's price changes. Again, keep in mind that heating oil and diesel fuels are affected by the winter blending of fuels and may be off somewhat with the addition of jet fuel to the mix:
Heating oil shows a drop of 3.6 cents a litre.
Stove oil shows a drop of 3.6 cents as well.
Diesel fuel shows a drop of 3.3 cents a litre, and...
Gasoline points down 4.7 cents a litre.
Consumers to see a drop to all fuel prices this week
Consumers will see substantial drops to all fuel prices this week as inventory data shows continued strong builds of oil inventories and weak demand for refined commodities like heating oil and gasoline. That's the word from George Murphy, group researcher for the Consumer Group for Fair Gas Prices.
"Numbers over the last week, especially since the Energy Information Administration released the latest inventory data on Wednesday, have been pointing down, and it doesn't appear that the numbers are going to get any better for those seeking higher prices," Murphy said. When you see some refineries coming back online from winter maintenance, and those refiners holding back on putting some stocks through for refining, you know there's going to be blow-back, in this case for the consumer. It appears that this is what happened over the last week, and that trend just might continue.
"Markets are also showing signs of a possible price war between some OPEC members that has been brewing since Iran signed on to a deal that will result in the lifting of sanctions this December. Previously, it was known that Iran would notify member nations of OPEC when it was ready to come back to higher production, but buried deep in the news was a quote from Iran stating 'The drop in prices won't be a concern for us. It will be a concern for those who replaced Iran'. I take that as meaning there's going to be payback for member nations and producers who stepped in to take up the oil deficit when sanctions were first placed on Iran years ago. Fellow OPEC members are on notice now. It's going to be worth watching how OPEC handles the situation of Iran's extra production of oil that chiefly goes to European customers. Brent prices may fall lower as a result.
"It's going to make a lot of speculators wonder again just where the bottom for oil prices really is. Here's hoping that consumers can see a positive benefit to that."
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For more information, contact;
George Murphy
Twitter @GeorgeMurphyOil
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