Numbers down again this week
Consumers to get another break before the long weekend

Media release

Conception Bay South, NL, May 18, 2010- Consumers in Newfoundland and Labrador will get a break for the may long weekend when the PUB moves to adjust prices this coming Thursday morning. That’s according to George Murphy of the Consumer Group for Fair Gas Prices.

“In spite of the Canadian dollar losing more ground to its US counterpart, oil prices slipped away enough that all numbers are showing down again for this week. I expect heating and stove oils to drop by 1.33 cents a litre, diesel to drop by 2.1 cents and gasoline to drop by just a penny. It’s the first time I have recorded a drop in prices before the May 24th long weekend in nearly four years.” Murphy said.

“The Canadian dollar still is close to parity to the US greenback but did lose against its compatriot as investors still sought protection away from commodities, choosing instead to hedge their bets in the “improving” economic news coming from the US. Still, there’s a huge distrust in some of the Euro nation’s ability to pay down on their debt by taking on added debt-load, and that also continues to play heavy in the markets with oil trading lower than $69 US for the first time since July 1st, 2009. As a result, I feel that there’s still a lot of distrust of the markets out there on the part of investors.

“All models still show that these economic factors have oil playing out at where it presently sits, or close to it, for the summer. That’s barring any unforeseen conditions playing into the markets. From the looks of it now, the provinces treasury may take a beating if oil prices stay low, but prices may be low enough that the important tourism season may make up for some of the lost revenue. Right now, I believe consumers care less about the provinces treasury. They get to put a little more disposable income in their pockets and that’s more important to any ongoing economic recovery.”

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For more information, contact;

George Murphy
Group researcher/Member
Consumer Group for Fair Gas Prices