Hi to all,
After last week’s wild change in prices, I have to urge caution in the actual price changes this week. I’ll have a solid set of data for next week when things come back in balance as the new dataset gets built up.
Either way, the numbers are still “up” this week regardless.
Here’s what I have:
*Heating and stove oils show an increase of 1.8 cents a litre.
*Diesel shows an increase of 2.3 cents a litre, and...
*Gasoline shows an increase of 3.3 cents a litre.
Continued low refiner capacity still figures this week as it remains below 87 percentage points. Usual for this time of the year is around 92 to 93 percent. That missing capacity is hurting gasoline stocks as we head toward the summer.
If there’s any other news here, it’s that prices with this week’s increase will still be close to the actual last year for the same time, being one cent over last year’s $1.34.2 a litre. Regulated maximum in St. John’s right now is $1.32.2 a litre.
Economically, OPEC cuts, including other non-OPEC nations continue to bite into any remaining over-supply issues as Iran, Venezuela and Libya all weigh on production cuts and add their own weight to prices.
Brent and WTI crudes has increased by close on $4 US over the past week, making acquisition costs a little higher.
That’s it for this week!
Regards,
George Murphy
Twitter @GeorgeMurphyOil
