No major changes with all the market confusion out there...

Hi to all,

Here’s what I have for this week’s price changes:

*Heating and stove oils show no change in price.

*Diesel fuel shows an increase of just 4/10ths of a cent a litre, and...

*Gasoline shows an increase of 3/10ths of a cent.

Gasoline price to remain relatively stable this week

“Gasoline prices will remain relatively steady this week with numbers showing just a 3/10ths of a cent a litre increase in the regulated maximum price at the pumps”. That news from George Murphy, consumer advocate and energy market-watcher. “The numbers are falling into my margin for error here, so there may be nothing serious happening this week that will cost us anything significant.”

While markets are in turmoil, nobody seems to have a handle on what constitutes market-changing news anymore, so, at least to me, no one is willing to take the risks in the energy markets until there’s some more stability.” Murphy said.

“OPEC members met again this past week, but in a surprise series of moves and who you talk to, everyone is on the same page when it comes to cuts, then everyone is not on the same page. While Nigeria, for example, have agreed to a production cut that limits them to a daily production of 1.8 million barrels a day, they are only pumping at 1.6 million barrels. Then there’s Iraq. While they’ve agreed to limit production under the agreed production cut arrangement, they’ve come out today announcing they will hit five million barrels a day by the end of this year. Presently, they produce almost 4.5 million barrels a day”.

Confusing as it sounds, the news is reflecting a market reality to consumers that no one knows which way prices should head under these conditions, and while demand may be up, the prospects for oil breaking into newer highs for the year seem distant.

“Then we have news from the US that shows that the US may set a new production record of ten million barrels a day domestic production by the end of this year that would bring more oil into the markets. That’s telling me that regardless of the news out of OPEC, there’s a bigger player out there that simply didn’t have the influence it now has ten years ago, and consumers will benefit from the confusion for the time-being”.

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For more information, contact:

George Murphy

Twitter @GeorgeMurphyOil