No pricing changes this week!

Here's what I have so far for this pricing session.

• Heating and stove oils are up by 1.22 cents a litre.
• Diesel numbers show 1.4 cents up from last weeks price setting, and...
• Gasoline shows DOWN by 7/10ths of a cent.

As you can tell by the numbers, there hasn't been any movement in the numbers even though the US price for oil, and it's related, refined commodities has increased a lot.

The reason?The meteoric rise in the Canadian dollar which is an important factor in gauging prices.

Since the numbers were last set, as of Tuesday last week, I've seen the Canuck Buck gain almost five cents against the US greenback.

So, what does the rise in the dollar have on refined commodities then, you ask?

If I take the last days trading and account for the gained five cents in the banking markets, then we're talking a saving to consumers of a rough 2.5 cents on heating and stove oils, 3.5 cents a litre on diesel and three cents from gasoline.

We dodged any fuel price interruption this week, thanks in part to the dollar's rise the past seven market days!

Prediction for you for next week: while the numbers are steadily increasing for oil and related commodities, the dollar will gain again this week and that will offset any increases coming down the pipeline for consumers. Distillate fuels like heating, stove and diesel will see piece-meal increases while gasoline will show "steady".

Look for the Canuck Buck to show parity with the US greenback by next week, not next January as some market figures are telling you. It's coming sooner rather than later.

Regards,

George Murphy
Group researcher/Member
Consumer Group for Fair Gas Prices
gasprices@hotmail.com