Hi to all,
Here’s what I have for this week’s price
changes:
*Heating and stove oils show an added 1.4
cents a litre up.
*Diesel shows an added penny upwards,
and...*Gasoline shows an added 1.2 cents a litre at the pumps.
Highlights
US EIA inventory data still shows demand
for gasoline
US Energy
Information data still showed demand for gasoline to remain up in the lead-up
to the Christmas travel season, but this week began to taper somewhat. It may
be as simple as investors not seeing demand continue in the weeks after the
holidays and that may be the beginning of what hopefully will be a retreat in
prices. Any building of inventories during winter on gasoline may be enough to
lower prices in the coming weeks.
The US EIA reported
a drop of 1.6 million barrels. Inventories remain a rough 5 million barrels
over the same timeframe last year.
Local word
With
snow-clearing becoming a prevalent issue on people’s minds, it remains a wonder
why government has not taken some of the new gas tax money and re-invested back
into 24 hour snow-clearing.
Last year,
government collected $193.98 million in gasoline taxes and it’s own estimates
predict $312 million will be collected with the doubling down of the gas tax in
year one.
Government also
said they would save a mere $1.9 million in getting rid of 24 hour
snow-clearing.
“As a matter of
public safety first and foremost, why can’t government take the $1.9 million
from the new gas tax money and retain proper snow-clearing for the people of
the province? It’s obvious right now that their new program is not working,
plain and simple”. That’s according to George Murphy, group researcher for the
Consumer Group for Fair Gas Prices.
“Government must understand also that our highways are part of how we carry out
commerce in this province, and if they aren’t useable, then we don’t generate
needed revenue for business, and also for government.
Basic
services suffer.
Not
cleaning roads may in fact cost government more than just savings. It could
cost jobs, let alone lives!”
Letter to the Public Utilities Board:
Transportation study needed for Labrador market
I will be
writing the Public Utilities Board in the next couple of days to ask that the
Board review transportation costs of fuel, particularly to coastal Labrador.
The reason is
simple really...
Before Christmas
we all saw that Coastal Shipping, a branch of the Woodward Group lay off a
hundred Newfoundland and Labrador personnel in favour of cheaper labour aboard
five of their ships.
“If labour is a
major cost to them of doing business that has been claimed as an allowable
expense in the transport of fuels and mark-ups to consumers as a result, then
prices for the transport of fuels to Newfoundland ports of call, but
particularly to coastal Labrador must come down as a result of paying out
lower wages. Just because you fly a ‘flag of convenience’ does not mean
consumers should pay. If tanker costs are coming down for the company, fuel costs
have to come down for the consumer.”
That’s it for this first year’s edition!
Regards,
George Murphy
Twitter @GeorgeMurphyOil
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