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Fuel Focus, February 6, 2015

Table of Contents

National Overview

Canadian Retail Gasoline Prices Increased 4 Cents per Litre from Last Week

For the week ending February 3, 2015, the Canadian average retail gasoline price was nearly 97 cents per litre, up 4 cents per litre from the previous week.  This represents a 1.5 cent-per-litre decrease since the beginning of the year. However, compared to last year at this time, average retail pump prices are 29 cents per litre lower.

Diesel fuel prices remained unchanged at $1.09 per litre compared to the previous week.  This is a decrease of 35 cents per litre from the same period last year. Furnace oil prices rose by 0.1 cent per litre from the previous week to an average of $1.06 per litre.

Figure 1: Crude Oil and Regular Gasoline Price Comparison
(National Average)

Crude Oil and Gasoline Price Comparison

Text version

Figure 1

The graph shows prices in cents per litre for gasoline at retail, gasoline excluding taxes, and Edmonton Par and Brent crude oil prices. Gasoline prices ended the period of February 3, 2015, at 96.5 cents per litre, excluding taxes at 60.2 cents per litre, Canadian Light Sweet at 30.7 cents per litre and Brent at 39.1 cents per litre.

Dates Gasoline at retail Excluding Taxes Canadian Light Sweet Brent crude
07/01/2014 125.0 85.6 60.6 73.0
14/01/2014 125.6 86.2 54.6 72.6
21/01/2014 125.7 86.3 52.8 73.2
28/01/2014 126.6 87.0 55.1 74.9
04/02/2014 125.9 86.7 59.0 75.1
11/02/2014 127.6 88.2 57.0 74.4
18/02/2014 129.3 89.8 68.5 75.3
25/02/2014 130.7 91.0 69.7 75.4
04/03/2014 132.5 92.7 71.5 75.4
11/03/2014 131.8 92.1 70.3 75.9
18/03/2014 132.0 92.3 64.3 75.4
25/03/2014 132.9 93.2 63.4 74.7
01/04/2014 132.9 93.2 64.4 75.2
08/04/2014 133.9 94.1 65.1 73.7
15/04/2014 136.8 96.7 64.2 73.8
22/04/2014 137.7 97.4 65.5 75.7
29/04/2014 139.8 99.4 65.0 76.1
06/05/2014 136.9 96.8 64.2 74.8
13/05/2014 135.7 95.8 64.2 73.9
20/05/2014 136.0 95.9 65.2 75.0
27/05/2014 136.8 96.6 66.2 75.5
03/06/2014 137.4 97.2 70.3 75.0
10/06/2014 138.1 97.9 65.5 74.7
17/06/2014 138.8 98.5 67.1 76.0
24/06/2014 141.2 100.7 67.3 77.8
01/07/2014 138.7 98.4 66.5 76.7
08/07/2014 137.2 97.0 65.2 74.9
15/07/2014 133.8 93.9 62.9 72.9
22/07/2014 133.0 93.2 62.7 72.4
29/07/2014 131.8 92.1 63.0 72.9
05/08/2014 131.1 91.5 63.7 72.9
2014-08-12 133.6 93.8 61.0 72.3
2014-08-19 131.3 91.7 61.1 71.1
26/08/2014 132.1 92.5 59.8 70.2
02/09/2014 132.8 93.0 60.6 70.4
09/09/2014 133.0 93.3 61.2 69.5
16/09/2014 129.9 90.4 60.5 68.2
23/09/2014 129.4 90.0 61.1 68.0
30/09/2014 130.1 90.6 60.6 67.6
07/10/2014 128.0 88.8 60.8 66.4
14/10/2014 123.1 84.4 58.0 64.2
21/10/2014 121.9 83.2 54.8 60.5
28/10/2014 118.8 80.3 53.1 60.8
04/11/2014 117.8 79.5 51.7 60.8
11/11/2014 119.2 80.7 49.0 59.6
18/11/2014 116.2 78.1 47.5 57.2
25/11/2014 114.4 76.4 47.0 56.2
02/12/2014 112.3 74.4 45.9 54.3
09/12/2014 107.2 69.9 42.9 50.3
16/12/2014 101.1 64.4 41.4 49.7
23/12/2014 99.4 62.8 35.6 44.3
30/12/2014 98.1 61.6 35.7 44.2
06/01/2015 95.0 58.8 33.8 42.0
13/01/2015 91.5 55.7 30.5 38.1
20/01/2015 91.3 55.4 29.8 35.8
27/01/2015 92.5 56.5 30.3 37.6
03/02/2015 96.5 60.2 30.7 39.1
 

Figure 2: Weekly Regular Gasoline Prices

Weekly Regular Gasoline Prices

Text version

Figure 2

This graph shows the gasoline price trends from 2013 to 2014.

Date 2013 Gasoline at Retail Date 2014 Gasoline at Retail Date 2015 Gasoline at Retail
13-01-01 118.90 14-01-07 125.00 15-01-06 95.00
13-01-08 120.60 14-01-14 125.60 15-01-13 91.50
13-01-15 118.90 14-01-21 125.70 15-01-20 91.30
13-01-22 119.70 14-01-28 126.60 15-01-27 92.50
13-01-29 123.30 14-02-04 125.90 15-02-03 96.50
13-02-05 129.20 14-02-11 127.60 15-02-10  
13-02-12 127.70 14-02-18 129.30 15-02-17  
13-02-19 130.50 14-02-25 130.70 15-02-24  
13-02-26 131.20 14-03-04 132.50 15-03-03  
13-03-05 131.20 14-03-11 131.80 15-03-10  
13-03-12 129.90 14-03-18 132.00 15-03-17  
13-03-19 130.10 14-03-25 132.90 15-03-24  
13-03-26 129.40 14-04-01 132.90 15-03-31  
13-04-02 128.70 14-04-08 133.90 15-04-07  
13-04-09 126.50 14-04-15 136.80 15-04-14  
13-04-16 125.00 14-04-22 137.70 15-04-21  
13-04-23 125.10 14-04-29 139.80 15-04-28  
13-04-30 126.30 14-05-06 136.90 15-05-05  
13-05-07 126.00 14-05-13 135.70 15-05-12  
13-05-14 129.30 14-05-20 136.00 15-05-19  
13-05-21 131.40 14-05-27 136.80 15-05-26  
13-05-28 132.90 14-06-03 137.40 15-06-02  
13-06-04 131.10 14-06-10 138.10 15-06-09  
13-06-11 132.90 14-06-17 138.80 15-06-16  
13-06-18 133.10 14-06-24 141.20 15-06-23  
13-06-25 130.50 14-07-01 138.70 15-06-30  
13-07-02 128.30 14-07-08 137.20 15-07-07  
13-07-09 132.40 14-07-15 133.80 15-07-14  
13-07-16 134.40 14-07-22 133.00 15-07-21  
13-07-23 134.70 14-07-29 131.80 15-07-28  
13-07-30 132.70 14-08-05 131.10 15-08-04  
13-08-06 131.50 14-08-12 133.60 15-08-11  
13-08-13 130.00 14-08-19 131.30 15-08-18  
13-08-20 132.00 14-08-26 132.10 15-08-25  
13-08-27 133.00 14-09-02 132.80 15-09-01  
13-09-03 133.90 14-09-09 133.00 15-09-08  
13-09-10 132.10 14-09-16 129.90 15-09-15  
13-09-17 130.60 14-09-23 129.40 15-09-22  
13-09-24 126.40 14-09-30 130.10 15-09-29  
13-10-01 124.30 14-10-07 128.00 15-10-06  
13-10-08 123.60 14-10-14 123.10 15-10-13  
13-10-15 124.80 14-10-21 121.90 15-10-20  
13-10-22 125.50 14-10-28 118.80 15-10-27  
13-10-29 124.40 14-11-04 117.80 15-11-03  
13-11-05 123.70 14-11-11 119.20 15-11-10  
13-11-12 122.60 14-11-18 116.20 15-11-17  
13-11-19 124.60 14-11-25 114.40 15-11-24  
13-11-26 126.40 14-12-02 112.30 15-12-01  
13-12-03 125.40 14-12-09 107.20 15-12-08  
13-12-10 125.90 14-12-16 101.10 15-12-15  
13-12-17 124.50 14-12-23 99.40 15-12-22  
13-12-24 125.00 14-12-30 98.10 15-12-29  
13-12-31 128.30        
 
Table 1: Changes in Fuel Prices
¢/L Week of: 2015-02-03 Change from:Previous  Week Change from:Last Year
Gasoline 96.5 +3.9 -29.4
Diesel 108.5 0.0 -35.4
Furnace Oil 105.5 +0.1 -26.7
Natural Gas Prices in $CA/GJ
Alberta (NGX) 2.51 -0.06 -2.64
Ontario (Dawn) 3.35 -0.28 -5.65

Source: NRCan, Bloomberg, NGX

Table 2: Natural Gas Prices for Vehicles
2014-12-09 ¢/kilogram ¢/L gasoline equivalent ¢/L diesel equivalent
Vancouver 114.5 75.5 78.3
Edmonton 115.0 75.9 78.7
Toronto 128.4 84.7 87.8

 

Source: ¢/kg Kent Marketing Services Limited

Recent Developments

  • U.S. Gasoline Inventories Climb: As oil prices have tumbled during the past few months, U.S. refiners have been sucking up as much of the abnormally inexpensive crude as they can, turning it into gasoline, diesel and other fuels. Prices at the pump have plunged to almost $2 a gallon, the lowest nationwide average in more than five years. Even though U.S. drivers are filling their tanks more often, they can’t keep pace with surging gasoline supplies. So a lot of the fuel that refiners are producing is sitting in storage tanks. Gasoline inventories stood at 240 million barrels as of January 9th —the highest they have been at this time of year since at least 1990. Refining capacity utilization has increased to more than 93% in the four weeks ending January 9, 2015, with U.S. refiners processing an average of 16 million barrels of oil a day—unusually high for this time of year. (Source: Wall Street Journal)
  • Domestic Gasoline Sales Up 2%: Canadians consumed 38 billion litres of gasoline in the first nine months of 2014, or more than 800 million litres more than the same period last year. In the same period, diesel fuel sales increased by 3% to 26 billion litres, while furnace oil sales increased by 2% to 3 billion litres. (Statistics Canada, Cansim Table 134-0004; NRCan)

Retail Gasoline Overview

The four-week average Canadian pump price in selected cities across Canada was 91 cents per litre for the period ending February 3, 2015. This represents a 35 cent-per-litre decrease compared to the same period in 2013.

For the period ending February 3, 2015, the overall four-week average crude oil price decreased by nearly 3 cents per litre to 37 cents per litre compared to two weeks ago.

Retail gasoline prices in Western centres ranged from 77 cents per litre to $1.03 per litre while prices in Eastern centres ranged from 90 cents per litre to $1.02 per litre.

Refining and marketing costs and margins registered at 18 cents per litre, an increase of 0.2 cent per litre from two weeks ago. Margins are 6 cents per litre lower than last year at this time.

Figure 3: Regular Gasoline Pump Prices in Selected Cities Four-Week Average (January 13 to February 3, 2015)

Regular Gasoline Pump Prices in Selected Cities Four-Week Average (January 13 to February 3, 2015)

Text version

Figure 3

This graph shows the gasoline price components for 2 territories and 10 cities plus the national average.

  Whitehorse Yellowknife Vancouver Calgary Regina Winnipeg Toronto Montreal* Saint John* Halifax* Charlottetown* St. John's* Canada
Pump Price 106.9 106.4 102.9 79.3 84.8 77.2 90.2 102.4 90.5 91.0 92.0 97.9 91.4
Crude (est. 30.2 30.2 30.2 30.2 30.2 30.2 34.2 37.0 37.0 37.0 37.0 37.0 36.9
Federal Taxes 15.1 15.1 14.9 13.8 14.0 13.7 10.0 14.5 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 14.6
Provincial Tax 6.2 10.7 32.2 9.0 15.0 14.0 14.7 31.1 13.6 15.5 13.1 16.5 21.7
HST             10.4   10.4 11.9 11.3 11.3  
Refining & Marketing Costs & Margins 55.4 50.4 25.6 26.3 25.6 19.3 20.9 19.8 19.4 16.6 20.6 23.1 18.2
 

Source: NRCan
* Regulated Markets
Note: Toronto crude oil cost includes pipeline tolls of $4 per barrel for light crude oil from Edmonton to Sarnia, Ontario.
 

CPI Annual Review 2014

In 2014, the annual average increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 2.0%. This increase followed gains of 0.9% in 2013 and 1.5% in 2012.

The transportation index rose 1.1% on an annual average basis in 2014, led by higher prices for the purchase of passenger vehicles (+1.3%). Meanwhile, gasoline prices rose 0.2%, the lowest annual average increase since 2009. After increasing in the first half of 2014, the gasoline index posted six consecutive monthly declines. The monthly declines in November and December were the largest since 2008.

Among the provinces, eight posted larger annual average increases in consumer prices in 2014 than in 2013. Ontario recorded the largest acceleration in consumer price inflation. Prince Edward Island and Manitoba were the only two provinces where annual average price increases were smaller in 2014 than in the previous year.

Source: The Daily

 

Wholesale Gasoline Prices

Wholesale gasoline prices ranged from 43 to 51 cents per litre in selected centres for the week of January 29, 2015. Overall, compared to the previous week, Canadian and American centres recorded price increases in the range of nearly 1 to more than 4 cents per litre.

In the Western centres, prices increased from 2 to 4 cents per litre compared to the previous week, with prices ending at 43 to 49 cents per litre.

Prices in Eastern centres rose from less than 1 to 3 cents per litre and ended at 47 to 51 cents per litre.

In the last four weeks, wholesale prices in most Canadian and American selected centres ranged between a decrease of 4 cents per litre to an increase of nearly 7 cents per litre.

Overall, compared to the same period last year, wholesale prices in all selected centres declined from 27 to 35 cents per litre.

 
Text version

Figure 4

This graph shows the trend in wholesale gasoline prices for selected centres in Canada and the U.S.

DATE Halifax Braintree Montreal Rochester Toronto Buffalo Edmonton Grand Forks Vancouver Seattle
Thu 02-Jan-14 83.00 81.60 83.90 81.26 82.40 81.49 72.90 77.05 77.80 72.33
Thu 09-Jan-14 81.80 79.89 81.30 81.25 80.00 81.12 72.60 77.50 75.40 69.37
Thu 16-Jan-14 79.90 78.10 80.80 80.69 79.20 80.27 73.60 78.54 74.50 69.50
Thu 23-Jan-14 83.30 81.27 82.50 80.86 81.50 84.27 75.20 81.56 77.80 72.04
Thu 30-Jan-14 83.60 81.57 82.50 81.27 81.60 83.07 75.90 82.75 77.20 72.24
Thu 06-Feb-14 83.00 81.77 81.00 79.85 80.60 82.00 75.00 82.38 76.40 73.02
Thu 13-Feb-14 85.40 84.58 83.50 82.68 83.50 83.54 77.70 86.24 79.80 74.26
Thu 20-Feb-14 87.30 87.33 84.90 85.83 85.20 88.00 79.60 89.82 80.40 76.56
Thu 27-Feb-14 87.60 87.64 84.60 86.29 85.70 87.43 83.00 89.92 82.60 80.13
Thu 06-Mar-14 85.10 84.56 83.30 84.37 84.20 85.84 84.10 91.11 84.80 81.55
Thu 13-Mar-14 85.90 84.97 83.80 85.80 83.50 86.75 85.30 91.48 85.40 82.23
Thu 20-Mar-14 84.20 86.34 82.40 86.82 82.10 87.62 85.00 91.13 85.70 84.11
Thu 27-Mar-14 83.40 84.62 84.00 84.72 82.80 87.34 85.90 90.80 86.80 85.82
Thu 03-Apr-14 81.90 82.99 83.10 83.94 82.50 87.19 85.30 90.11 85.90 83.37
Thu 10-Apr-14 86.70 82.53 86.50 85.36 86.00 95.70 88.00 91.01 89.40 86.71
Thu 17-Apr-14 90.60 88.47 87.90 88.00 88.70 97.62 88.80 90.24 91.20 88.76
Thu 24-Apr-14 91.30 91.03 90.10 89.26 91.40 99.92 90.50 92.66 94.50 88.79
Thu 01-May-14 87.60 88.06 87.00 86.18 88.80 87.36 88.70 88.15 91.30 83.13
Thu 08-May-14 86.90 87.20 84.80 83.61 86.60 89.49 86.60 87.11 91.00 84.56
Thu 15-May-14 86.50 84.35 85.10 84.57 87.20 86.86 86.90 88.18 92.50 85.56
Thu 22-May-14 88.30 85.62 86.70 85.75 89.30 88.24 88.30 90.07 93.20 88.76
Thu 29-May-14 87.30 85.51 86.80 85.31 89.40 87.46 88.60 90.44 93.60 87.32
Thu 05-Jun-14 84.80 84.40 86.10 82.54 89.80 86.83 90.60 89.57 93.60 88.04
Thu 12-Jun-14 86.10 87.14 86.30 84.73 91.30 88.58 89.80 90.68 95.40 89.01
Thu 19-Jun-14 88.80 87.87 89.70 86.27 93.50 88.82 90.50 91.88 97.40 90.68
Thu 26-Jun-14 87.20 85.34 88.00 82.13 92.30 86.41 87.70 89.10 95.80 89.24
Thu 03-Jul-14 85.20 83.69 86.20 81.51 91.00 83.83 86.10 87.49 92.60 84.50
Thu 10-Jul-14 83.30 85.59 84.00 81.81 88.30 81.79 82.70 85.06 87.10 77.57
Thu 17-Jul-14 83.00 80.56 83.20 80.28 87.00 80.73 81.10 83.27 85.90 80.33
Thu 24-Jul-14 82.80 79.09 82.80 79.34 86.20 79.74 80.00 81.68 85.80 81.44
Thu 31-Jul-14 83.80 87.46 83.40 80.18 86.40 80.24 82.20 83.30 87.80 84.44
Thu 07-Aug-14 81.40 79.26 81.80 80.46 84.90 79.89 81.90 88.04 87.30 86.85
Thu 14-Aug-14 82.60 77.16 82.40 79.65 84.90 78.55 84.30 84.66 87.00 84.17
Thu 21-Aug-14 81.90 79.42 81.70 79.51 83.90 81.73 81.80 85.88 86.20 87.20
Thu 28-Aug-14 83.10 78.90 82.80 80.35 84.40 80.39 82.90 83.88 86.70 83.98
Thu 04-Sep-14 83.10 80.84 83.70 79.15 84.90 82.42 84.60 83.78 87.50 82.30
Thu 11-Sep-14 81.50 76.41 81.80 76.36 81.60 81.51 83.70 81.38 84.00 76.59
Thu 18-Sep-14 80.60 77.81 80.50 74.98 80.70 79.17 81.60 80.84 82.80 71.42
Thu 25-Sep-14 83.60 78.95 83.50 80.27 83.20 82.88 82.40 84.63 81.10 74.90
Thu 02-Oct-14 81.10 79.27 80.70 78.81 80.80 77.62 80.70 77.68 79.00 70.20
Thu 09-Oct-14 76.90 79.26 76.00 68.83 75.10 72.60 76.90 75.00 73.00 62.09
Thu 16-Oct-14 72.80 80.09 71.40 71.13 70.90 73.39 71.60 77.11 68.80 60.12
Thu 23-Oct-14 73.00 79.88 71.20 68.07 71.40 73.20 71.00 84.35 68.90 61.00
Thu 30-Oct-14 72.80 67.77 72.30 68.97 73.10 71.65 70.00 74.62 71.90 62.09
Thu 06-Nov-14 68.60 67.60 68.40 68.48 69.50 72.40 70.10 69.67 71.40 67.60
Thu 13-Nov-14 69.50 65.75 69.90 65.51 70.50 69.41 69.90 62.53 74.60 68.81
Thu 20-Nov-14 68.20 65.89 68.10 64.70 68.40 70.32 65.70 62.55 70.30 64.40
Thu 27-Nov-14 67.50 65.06 67.70 65.72 68.10 70.63 63.70 62.26 65.70 59.13
Thu 04-Dec-14 61.90 58.14 62.40 58.98 62.70 62.97 59.20 56.59 60.20 51.92
Thu 11-Dec-14 55.60 52.87 57.20 53.75 57.10 58.20 55.70 53.10 54.70 44.73
Thu 18-Dec-14 53.90 50.11 55.60 52.37 55.80 56.36 52.20 48.09 54.70 42.88
Thu 25-Dec-14 54.20 51.09 55.70 52.54 56.30 57.54 52.10 47.32 55.20 44.15
Thu 01-Jan-15 50.20 45.88 51.30 47.82 51.70 52.04 47.20 42.25 51.20 41.16
Thu 08-Jan-15 46.90 43.19 50.60 44.81 47.30 48.09 45.00 42.87 48.50 40.72
Thu 15-Jan-15 46.60 42.30 50.30 43.50 47.20 46.68 44.20 43.28 47.00 37.04
Thu 22-Jan-15 47.20 45.26 50.50 45.67 47.20 49.64 43.90 45.92 47.00 39.15
Thu 29-Jan-15 48.20 47.00 51.00 48.37 48.00 50.44 48.40 48.80 48.80 42.85
 

Sources: NRCan, Bloomberg Oil Buyers Guide

Gasoline Refining and Marketing Margins

Four-week rolling averages are used for gasoline refining and marketing margins.

Refining margins for gasoline have been showing some gains which is indicative of a tightening on supplies. These margins have increased more promptly than crude oil prices. Nationally, refining margins reached 16 cents per litre, a 1.5 cent per litre increase compared to the same period a year ago.

Overall, marketing margins declined nearly 2 cents per litre to 7.6 cents per litre. For the five centres, marketing margins ranged from a low of 5.7 cents per litre in Montreal to a high of 8.6 cents per litre in Vancouver.

Marketing margins have to cover the costs associated with operating an outlet and generating a profit for the station owner. These margins can vary significantly depending on the region, volume sold, and availability of other product offerings. Most of the costs of operating an outlet are fixed and do not decline with lower gasoline prices.

 
Text version

Figure 5

These graphs show the trend in refining and marketing costs and margins for selected centres in Canada and the national average.

4-week rolling average Canada Vancouver Calgary Toronto Montreal Halifax
Marketing Margin Refining Margin Marketing Margin Refining Margin Marketing Margin Refining Margin Marketing Margin Refining Margin Marketing Margin Refining Margin Marketing Margin Refining Margin
2013-01-01 6.2 18.6 2.8 25.9 6.1 23.1 7.1 28.9 3.6 7.3 7.7 5.6
2013-01-08 6.4 19.0 2.7 24.5 6.0 19.8 7.1 27.6 4.4 8.0 7.5 6.6
2013-01-15 6.5 17.5 3.5 22.2 5.9 16.3 6.8 25.5 4.6 8.2 8.5 7.2
2013-01-22 6.9 15.6 4.4 20.2 6.3 14.3 7.0 23.9 5.5 8.3 8.5 7.6
2013-01-29 6.9 15.0 4.2 16.8 5.8 11.0 6.5 20.7 7.7 8.4 7.6 7.9
2013-02-05 7.0 14.6 4.2 18.2 6.4 12.3 6.8 21.1 8.1 9.5 7.1 9.2
2013-02-12 6.8 16.2 3.4 22.2 6.4 16.1 6.9 23.6 7.8 9.4 7.1 9.1
2013-02-19 6.4 18.5 2.4 25.6 6.2 19.9 6.8 25.7 7.0 11.0 7.4 10.8
2013-02-26 6.6 20.8 3.4 31.1 6.3 26.0 7.0 30.0 6.3 13.7 8.6 13.6
2013-03-05 6.7 22.7 4.7 32.0 5.2 27.8 7.0 30.1 6.7 13.9 9.3 14.0
2013-03-12 6.8 23.3 5.8 32.1 4.7 28.9 7.1 29.7 6.8 14.3 9.0 14.6
2013-03-19 7.2 23.1 7.0 31.5 5.1 29.1 7.4 29.4 6.8 12.3 9.1 12.8
2013-03-26 7.5 21.7 7.3 27.8 6.0 26.5 7.8 26.4 6.7 12.3 9.0 12.9
2013-04-02 7.1 20.9 6.9 26.5 6.4 25.8 7.5 25.6 5.2 12.6 8.4 12.9
2013-04-09 7.3 19.4 6.8 24.2 7.4 23.6 6.8 24.1 5.7 13.2 9.2 12.6
2013-04-16 7.8 17.9 6.9 22.7 7.7 21.6 6.7 22.2 7.2 11.6 10.1 10.5
2013-04-23 7.9 17.6 7.0 23.6 7.3 22.4 6.6 22.5 8.4 12.6 9.5 11.1
2013-04-30 8.2 17.6 7.2 24.1 7.4 22.9 6.8 22.2 9.5 12.2 9.2 10.6
2013-05-07 7.8 17.9 6.8 24.4 5.6 23.0 6.9 20.1 9.9 12.1 8.3 10.3
2013-05-14 7.4 19.2 6.7 27.0 4.4 25.1 6.9 19.3 10.2 12.4 7.8 10.2
2013-05-21 6.6 20.7 6.3 29.2 4.1 28.2 7.0 19.6 7.7 13.4 7.6 10.7
2013-05-28 6.7 21.3 6.3 31.3 5.4 32.2 7.0 20.8 6.9 13.8 8.1 10.9
2013-06-04 7.0 22.6 6.6 31.4 7.2 35.6 7.2 22.0 6.3 13.7 8.4 11.2
2013-06-11 7.3 23.3 6.8 29.9 8.5 36.8 7.2 22.9 6.4 13.9 8.1 11.8
2013-06-18 8.5 22.7 7.5 29.4 9.9 36.5 7.4 23.5 9.0 13.0 8.2 11.5
2013-01-01 6.2 18.6 2.8 25.9 6.1 23.1 7.1 28.9 3.6 7.3 7.7 5.6
2013-01-08 6.4 19.0 2.7 24.5 6.0 19.8 7.1 27.6 4.4 8.0 7.5 6.6
2013-01-15 6.5 17.5 3.5 22.2 5.9 16.3 6.8 25.5 4.6 8.2 8.5 7.2
2013-01-22 6.9 15.6 4.4 20.2 6.3 14.3 7.0 23.9 5.5 8.3 8.5 7.6
2013-01-29 6.9 15.0 4.2 16.8 5.8 11.0 6.5 20.7 7.7 8.4 7.6 7.9
2013-02-05 7.0 14.6 4.2 18.2 6.4 12.3 6.8 21.1 8.1 9.5 7.1 9.2
2013-02-12 6.8 16.2 3.4 22.2 6.4 16.1 6.9 23.6 7.8 9.4 7.1 9.1
2013-02-19 6.4 18.5 2.4 25.6 6.2 19.9 6.8 25.7 7.0 11.0 7.4 10.8
2013-02-26 6.6 20.8 3.4 31.1 6.3 26.0 7.0 30.0 6.3 13.7 8.6 13.6
2013-03-05 6.7 22.7 4.7 32.0 5.2 27.8 7.0 30.1 6.7 13.9 9.3 14.0
2013-03-12 6.8 23.3 5.8 32.1 4.7 28.9 7.1 29.7 6.8 14.3 9.0 14.6
2013-03-19 7.2 23.1 7.0 31.5 5.1 29.1 7.4 29.4 6.8 12.3 9.1 12.8
2013-03-26 7.5 21.7 7.3 27.8 6.0 26.5 7.8 26.4 6.7 12.3 9.0 12.9
2013-04-02 7.1 20.9 6.9 26.5 6.4 25.8 7.5 25.6 5.2 12.6 8.4 12.9
2013-04-09 7.3 19.4 6.8 24.2 7.4 23.6 6.8 24.1 5.7 13.2 9.2 12.6
2013-04-16 7.8 17.9 6.9 22.7 7.7 21.6 6.7 22.2 7.2 11.6 10.1 10.5
2013-04-23 7.9 17.6 7.0 23.6 7.3 22.4 6.6 22.5 8.4 12.6 9.5 11.1
2013-04-30 8.2 17.6 7.2 24.1 7.4 22.9 6.8 22.2 9.5 12.2 9.2 10.6
2013-05-07 7.8 17.9 6.8 24.4 5.6 23.0 6.9 20.1 9.9 12.1 8.3 10.3
2013-05-14 7.4 19.2 6.7 27.0 4.4 25.1 6.9 19.3 10.2 12.4 7.8 10.2
2013-05-21 6.6 20.7 6.3 29.2 4.1 28.2 7.0 19.6 7.7 13.4 7.6 10.7
2013-05-28 6.7 21.3 6.3 31.3 5.4 32.2 7.0 20.8 6.9 13.8 8.1 10.9
2013-06-04 7.0 22.6 6.6 31.4 7.2 35.6 7.2 22.0 6.3 13.7 8.4 11.2
2013-06-11 7.3 23.3 6.8 29.9 8.5 36.8 7.2 22.9 6.4 13.9 8.1 11.8
2013-06-18 8.5 22.7 7.5 29.4 9.9 36.5 7.4 23.5 9.0 13.0 8.2 11.5
2013-10-22 7.3 13.2 5.9 18.8 7.3 20.0 7.4 18.8 6.9 5.1 6.8 6.3
2013-10-29 7.3 13.9 5.7 18.1 7.8 20.1 6.9 19.1 7.6 5.1 6.7 6.3
2013-11-05 7.8 13.6 5.9 18.8 8.9 21.3 7.2 20.8 8.4 5.7 7.3 6.9
2013-11-12 7.8 14.5 6.0 18.5 9.5 21.2 7.4 21.2 7.6 6.0 7.4 7.0
2013-11-19 7.6 16.2 6.1 21.9 7.7 24.7 7.3 25.6 8.3 5.9 6.6 7.0
2013-11-26 7.6 17.8 5.8 23.7 7.2 26.9 7.9 28.3 8.8 6.8 6.6 7.8
2013-12-03 7.0 19.9 4.9 24.8 6.1 28.1 7.7 30.5 7.3 5.9 6.1 6.9
2013-12-10 7.3 20.2 4.5 24.3 6.1 27.8 7.9 30.9 8.3 6.2 6.9 7.0
2013-12-17 7.8 18.9 4.3 22.2 8.2 24.6 7.8 28.9 8.0 6.1 8.0 6.4
2013-12-24 7.2 18.4 4.7 22.3 7.6 22.9 7.7 28.5 5.6 6.8 7.6 6.5
2013-12-31 7.5 18.1 4.0 21.0 7.5 20.0 6.8 26.3 5.6 8.2 6.9 7.3
2014-01-07 7.7 16.4 5.2 20.8 7.6 18.6 7.4 25.3 4.7 8.1 6.3 7.4
2014-01-14 7.3 16.7 5.5 21.2 6.8 19.7 7.6 25.6 4.1 8.7 5.8 8.1
2014-01-21 7.9 16.3 5.2 20.1 7.0 19.4 7.6 24.3 6.4 8.1 6.6 7.7
2014-01-28 7.9 15.6 6.6 20.1 6.7 20.1 8.7 24.1 7.8 6.9 7.4 6.7
2014-02-04 7.6 16.1 5.5 20.0 6.7 21.3 8.0 24.2 8.2 6.5 8.1 6.7
2014-02-11 7.3 16.4 5.0 16.9 6.1 18.0 8.0 20.7 7.8 6.5 7.6 7.3
2014-02-18 7.0 15.0 4.6 16.4 6.7 17.7 7.9 20.3 6.6 7.2 7.6 8.7
2014-02-25 6.5 14.3 4.3 12.5 6.5 14.3 7.8 16.8 5.1 8.2 7.4 10.2
2014-03-04 6.3 14.1 4.0 11.8 6.7 13.3 7.2 15.0 5.0 9.1 7.4 11.6
2014-03-11 6.7 12.6 4.7 14.0 7.3 16.0 7.1 16.0 5.3 9.1 8.8 11.2
2014-03-18 7.1 13.3 5.9 15.3 6.5 17.9 7.6 15.7 6.3 8.5 9.6 10.4
2014-03-25 7.7 14.3 6.8 19.7 7.4 22.1 7.8 18.0 6.6 8.4 9.6 9.7
2014-04-01 8.1 15.1 8.3 21.5 7.3 24.1 8.4 18.9 7.0 8.4 9.4 8.7
2014-04-08 8.1 16.6 8.3 22.4 8.1 24.5 8.5 19.0 6.8 9.5 8.4 9.3
2014-04-15 7.8 18.2 8.5 23.7 9.0 24.9 8.4 20.3 5.8 11.1 7.1 11.0
2014-04-22 7.8 18.9 8.6 24.4 8.5 25.2 8.6 21.3 5.7 11.5 7.2 12.1
2014-04-29 8.0 20.0 8.7 26.0 9.3 26.1 8.7 23.0 5.9 12.2 8.2 13.2
2014-05-06 8.4 20.3 9.0 26.7 9.6 26.3 8.8 23.7 6.4 12.3 9.4 14.0
2014-05-13 8.7 19.8 8.4 27.4 9.9 26.0 8.5 23.5 7.4 11.5 10.0 13.3
2014-05-20 8.6 19.6 8.1 27.2 9.7 25.2 8.2 22.9 8.0 11.0 9.6 12.3
2014-05-27 8.0 19.4 7.7 27.2 7.9 24.8 7.8 22.5 8.0 10.8 8.4 12.1
2014-06-03 7.7 18.8 7.4 26.4 7.4 23.9 7.7 21.4 8.1 10.6 8.1 11.3
2014-06-10 7.4 19.4 7.3 26.4 6.9 24.3 7.6 22.0 7.7 11.2 7.8 11.3
2014-06-17 7.3 19.8 7.1 26.9 6.8 24.7 7.3 23.0 7.6 10.8 7.7 10.7
2014-06-24 7.8 19.9 7.3 28.5 8.6 25.7 7.7 24.8 7.6 11.0 8.0 10.5
2014-07-01 7.8 20.7 6.9 29.1 9.3 25.1 7.3 25.8 6.9 11.3 7.8 10.7
2014-07-08 8.2 20.0 7.7 28.0 10.0 24.0 7.7 25.6 7.1 10.8 8.2 10.3
2014-07-15 8.6 19.4 7.6 27.9 11.4 23.8 7.8 26.4 6.9 12.2 8.9 11.6
2014-07-22 8.4 19.0 7.3 26.2 11.2 22.4 7.1 25.6 7.2 11.6 8.7 11.3
2014-07-29 8.3 18.4 7.9 25.1 9.9 22.0 7.4 25.2 7.1 11.1 8.3 11.0
2014-08-05 7.9 18.2 7.6 24.6 8.9 21.6 7.2 24.4 7.2 10.4 8.1 10.4
2014-08-12 8.0 18.4 8.1 25.1 9.7 21.8 7.3 24.4 7.8 10.3 7.6 10.5
2014-08-19 8.6 17.8 8.3 25.2 10.5 22.3 7.3 24.2 7.0 10.1 7.8 10.4
2014-08-26 8.6 18.6 8.1 25.9 11.4 23.4 6.9 24.5 7.5 11.3 7.2 11.6
2014-09-02 8.4 19.5 7.9 26.6 11.8 24.5 6.8 24.7 7.4 12.2 7.0 12.5
2014-09-09 8.5 19.6 7.6 26.4 10.1 25.2 7.1 24.1 7.6 13.4 7.5 13.3
2014-09-16 8.0 20.1 8.2 25.4 8.5 25.4 7.6 22.9 7.7 13.4 7.8 13.3
2014-09-23 8.2 19.3 8.3 24.1 7.8 24.8 8.0 21.8 7.8 13.8 8.1 13.7
2014-09-30 8.1 19.2 8.6 22.2 7.5 24.4 7.9 21.6 7.3 14.3 8.0 14.2
2014-10-07 8.4 18.1 9.2 20.2 9.2 23.7 7.6 20.8 7.2 14.5 8.9 14.9
2014-10-14 8.8 17.0 8.6 17.9 11.0 22.1 7.7 19.2 8.0 13.2 9.6 13.9
2014-10-21 9.2 15.7 9.2 17.7 12.4 23.0 7.7 20.4 8.8 14.5 9.3 15.4
2014-10-28 9.6 13.4 8.5 16.5 13.8 21.1 8.0 18.8 9.2 12.5 9.6 13.5
2014-11-04 9.3 15.2 8.1 18.5 12.3 22.2 8.4 19.9 9.4 11.5 8.9 12.3
2014-11-11 9.2 16.2 8.3 19.7 10.5 21.9 8.7 20.2 9.9 10.6 7.5 11.1
2014-11-18 9.2 16.4 8.4 22.4 10.7 22.9 8.8 21.4 9.1 11.0 8.5 11.3
2014-11-25 9.2 16.8 9.4 22.7 10.9 22.7 8.7 21.4 9.4 10.8 8.3 11.0
2014-12-02 9.4 16.8 9.4 22.9 11.8 22.4 8.8 22.2 9.1 13.1 8.5 12.9
2014-12-09 9.7 15.7 9.9 19.4 13.2 19.6 8.8 20.1 8.9 11.5 9.4 11.1
2014-12-16 9.5 14.2 9.5 19.2 12.5 20.2 8.5 20.9 9.1 12.5 9.3 11.7
2014-12-23 9.4 13.8 9.5 18.3 11.8 19.4 8.8 20.1 9.1 11.9 9.0 10.4
2014-12-30 9.6 12.9 9.8 17.5 11.8 18.4 8.9 19.0 9.7 10.3 9.0 8.9
2015-01-06 9.4 12.5 9.7 18.1 11.3 18.3 9.1 18.9 8.8 11.2 9.0 9.0
2015-01-13 9.6 13.0 10.1 17.6 10.7 17.1 9.4 17.8 8.9 11.6 9.0 8.9
2015-01-20 9.5 12.9 9.9 17.1 10.9 16.7 9.4 17.1 8.3 12.1 8.8 9.0
2015-01-27 8.7 13.9 9.4 17.2 8.9 17.4 9.3 17.0 7.0 12.7 7.9 9.2
2015-02-03 7.6 16.1 8.6 18.9 7.5 19.3 8.5 18.3 5.7 14.0 6.1 11.0
 

Source: NRCan

Crude Oil Overview

Global Crude Oil Prices Continue to Push Downward

For the week ending January 30, 2015, light crude oil prices averaged between $307/m3 and $391/m3, (US$39 to US$50 per barrel). Prices for the light crude increased, compared to last week, in the range of less than $1/m3 to $15/m3.

The price for Canadian heavy oil (Western Canada Select) averaged $253/m3 (US$32 per barrel) for the week ending January 30, 2015. Compared to last year at the same period, WCS prices fell by 46%.

On January 28, 2015, the NYMEX crude oil prices closed at $US 44 per barrel, its lowest point level in nearly six years. However, overall crude oil prices rebounded in the week ending January 30, 2015, on news of falling drilling rig count, which suggests a decline in oil supply will follow.
U.S. crude oil inventories remain above their five-year average range, putting downward pressure on North American crude oil prices.

Figure 6: Crude Oil Price Comparisons

Crude Oil Price Comparison

Text version

Figure 6

This graph shows crude oil prices for Edmonton Par (Canadian Light Sweet after May 1, 2014), WTI, Brent and WCS. The average weekly prices for the period ending December 5, 2014, were $429/cubic metres, $481/cubic metres, $503/cubic metres and $362/cubic metres for the Canadian Light, WTI, Brent and WCS, respectively. Please note that as of May 1, 2014, the Edmonton Par crude oil prices are discontinued and replaced with the Canadian Light Sweet, a blend traded daily on the Net Energy Index and considered a benchmark crude for the Canadian crude market.

Dates Edmonton Par Prices
(Canadian Light Sweet after May 1, 2014)		 WTI Brent WCS
01/13 549.97 592.14 699.83 387.55
02/13 553.76 605.29 736.06 370.93
03/13 560.66 598.93 705.36 430.10
04/13 571.20 590.06 663.78 441.27
05/13 598.81 608.31 662.59 519.16
06/13 577.25 630.51 680.52 489.10
07/13 664.03 685.36 703.73 592.16
08/13 665.21 697.44 722.47 595.65
09/13 647.06 691.84 723.16 543.60
10/13 592.41 655.54 713.92 483.77
11/13 511.65 620.13 711.21 413.23
12/13 524.69 655.42 740.65 394.48
01/14 561.87 651.27 735.43 452.06
02/14 665.35 699.89 756.56 566.93
03/14 655.67 701.90 752.47 554.81
04/14 647.62 704.92 747.57 550.77
05/14 652.85 697.62 748.13 566.87
06/14 665.50 715.93 762.22 589.57
07/14 629.45 690.70 730.08 558.81
08/14 606.25 660.32 710.46 507.84
09/14 608.92 644.03 681.65 515.00
10/14 551.84 594.78 621.20 497.90
11/14 474.20 540.12 569.75 447.90
12/14 378.11 430.68 459.36 313.77
January 9, 2015 305.46 362.54 381.36 251.97
January 16, 2015 297.77 353.89 357.92 252.78
January 23, 2015 303.47 360.13 376.15 251.18
January 30, 2015 307.17 360.26 391.43 252.74
 

Sources: NRCan

Changes in Crude Oil Prices
Crude Oil Types Week Ending:
2014-12-05		 Change From:
Previous Week		 Change From:
Last Year
$Can/
m3		 $US/
bbl		 $Can/
m3		 $US/
bbl		 $Can/
m3		 $US/
bbl
Canadian Light 307.17 38.98 +3.69 -0.22 -282.47 -45.19
WTI 360.26 45.72 +0.12 -0.80 -320.94 -51.52
Brent 391.43 49.67 +15.28 +1.09 -359.94 -57.59
WCS 252.74 32.07 +1.55 -0.37 -300.27 -46.87

 

 

Source: NRCan

Crude Oil Price Forecasts
(US Dollar per Barrel)

Institution WTI Brent
2015 2016 2015 2016
Bank of America / Merrill 50 57 52 58
US EIA 55 71 58 75
RBC Capital Markets 65 74 71 83
ABN AMRO 55 70 60 75
Goldman Sachs 47 65 50 70
Deutsche Bank 55 65 59 70
Societe Generale 51 60 55 65
Den Norske Bank (DNB) NA NA 65 79
Suncor 59 NA 65 NA
BMO Capital Markets 56 72 NA NA
Scotiabank 60 70 63 73
Stifel 55 65 NA NA
Bernstein 75 85 80 90
Sproule Associates 65 80 68 83
CITI Research 55 62 63 70
CIBC 80 82 85 90
TD Bank 68 80 NA NA
Commerzbank 69 80 73 83
Credit Suisse 70 75 75 80
Barclay’s 66 NA 72 NA
Average 60 71 65 76

Source: Natural Resources Canada, forecast dates vary from December 1, 2014 to January 13, 2105.

 

 

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