Numbers are up for the week
Slight increases in pricing on the way Thursday

Media release

Conception Bay South, NL, June 1, 2010 – Consumers in Newfoundland and Labrador will experience something with fuel prices that they haven’t seen in a month, an increase in prices for Thursday morning. That’s from George Murphy of the Consumer Group for Fair Gas Prices.

What to expect this Thursday
“There was some recovery in the price of crude last week that also saw refined commodity prices recover some. Consumers will see a small hit that I don’t expect will last long. Heating and stove oil prices are expected to increase by 1.90/Lt, while diesel is expected to increase by the same. Gasoline prices will increase by 1.3/Lt,” said Murphy.

Why numbers are up
“It was ironic that China figured into the equation last week. The Chinese stepped into the fray over the European Union fiscal crisis and said that the “Greek debt-load was manageable”. That sent investors back to commodities and away from the US dollar. It was ironic that the communist country was able to stymie the economy of some democratic countries. Rather ironic as well as the communist country is in dire need of currency reform themselves. Never the less, investors took a chance and sent oil upwards again, all in spite of the build in crude inventories last week.”

What to expect this week with oil
“Even though numbers may have been up this last week, I expect oil prices to decline again if oil builds further inventories again this week. There seems to be some confusion about economic recovery and the spottiness of it worldwide seems to be playing a factor in oil’s price volatility. I’ve seen some wild swings in pricing in a twenty four hour period! All this is casting doubt on upwards pressures on oil and I expect oil to decline further as a result. There’s still instability in the markets, and while that’s there, consumers should see current pricing for the time being, keeping in mind that anything can change market conditions overnight, including the Hurricane Syndrome season we’ve just entered.”

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For more information, contact:

George Murphy
Group researcher/Member