Hurricane Katrina??? BS! Oil companies are just gouging. Plain and simple.

[Hulkster]

This morning my corner station was at 1.20. Now all of sudden it's down to .988. Someone please explain this to me. Was there a sudden burst of oil production while I was working? Oil companies are just taking advantage of the public because they know they can get away with it. People will be driving even if gas is at $4 a litre. Gasoline is just too convienient than to take metro transit or car pool.

Gouging 101 at it's perfection.

[15-20_God]

sorta like how prices go up just before a long weekend.
this is my surprised face :/

[Hulkster]

sorta like how prices go up just before a long weekend.
this is my surprised face :/
I don't find them doing that as often now. What I do notice a lot now is the substantial spike and drop of gasoline prices over the period of 12 hours. I'm not only talking about today. I've noticed this over the past year or so.

[Kommander_KornFlakes]

Even if the hurricane ravaged the oil rigs, or the middle east dissappeared from the face of the Earth, there's still no reason for canadian retailers to increase the price immediately because they have bought tons and tons of it at the cheap price and hold it in stock. Only after their supplies ran out in 4-6 weeks do they start buying oil at high prices.

But it's okay, the public is stupid and masochist, they deserve what they're getting......

[nano]

were paying now for the more expensive gas they would have to buy in the comming weeks. if a retailer knows the price of the products are going to cost more do you blame them for raising the price?

[Hulkster]

were paying now for the more expensive gas they would have to buy in the comming weeks. if a retailer knows the price of the products are going to cost more do you blame them for raising the price?
Can you explain why it's back down to .989 then?

[nano]

Can you explain why it's back down to .989 then?they cant stop making gas because sales are slow its made and its sent to a gas station. if the gas doesnt get out of the refinery in a certain amount of time its burnt off.

now what i understand gas is cheaper at night because people are more willing to drive around looking for gas at night then in the morning.

[d_jedi]

The price of oil and gas is not based on supply and demand. There is significant gouging all along the way.

There is no reason why a barrel of oil should cost $70US. There is no reason why a deficit fighting tax is placed on gas when we haven't had a deficit in years. There is no reason for such huge spikes in pump prices.

It's all gouging, plain and simple.

[bug]

Price of gas is 1.34.9 today in Montreal :-0 It was 1.08 yesterday. It's just like what happened during the ice storm of '98. Some retailers were price gouging like there was no tomorrow. It's corporate greed pure and simple. :evil:

[hyperion]

Even the DJ on Z103.5 went crazy about the gouging this morning and turned it into a mini political rant....I never thought I'd hear something like that on Z103.5, I hope he doesnt get fired for "stepping out of line".

[joo]

Oil companies control the weather (they bought out the Russians).

Now stop whining or stop driving.

[Hulkster]

Every radio station today had some representative from an oil company defending the price hikes.

[gman]

Can you explain why it's back down to .989 then?
May be because Bush announced opening up their reserves ... although I doubt it.

[BladeX]

i still remeber good old 40-50 cent prices..

haha now its double

[Galasius]

It amazes me how the oil companies can say with a straight face that they're not the cause of the rising gas prices. I understand the ever increasing price of crude. I understand the Canadian tax structure. I understand supply and demand. But, none of these economic facts explain:

The daily price cycle in the GTA. There seem to be four prices each and every day.... The morning rush price (the highest), the afternoon rush price (the second highest), the mid-day price (second lowest), and the overnight price (the lowest). The swing from the overnight price to the morning rush price is typically 8¢ and 10¢.

I was out tonight around 11PM in Mississauga and passed 3 Petro-Canada stations within a 1km stretch on Eglinton Ave around Hwy 10. Prices were 126.9, 103.9, and 97.9 at these three stations. That's a 30% variation from high-to-low. Same product, same 'brand', same location (OK, within 1km), same time.... Was the station at 97.9 taking a loss because they were feeling sorry for consumers? I highly doubt it. So, that can only mean the station at 1.269 was/is gouging.

Do crude prices explain these observations? NO!
Do tax patterns explain these observations? NO!
Does supply & demand explain these observations? Possibly, for the daily variation.

Yes, we all need to practice conervation.
BUT, the government REALLY needs to reconsider the tax structure for gasoline. As the tax is a percentage, as crude/pump prices increase, so does the tax grab. Let's not forget that the Feds are sitting on a SUBSTANTIAL budget surplus this year, as they did last year. A fixed ¢/L tax rate would be fairer - base the tax on CONSUMPTION, not on price.
AND, the oil companies shouldn't get off Scot free. Their pricing policies are verging on criminal. There's no excuse for adjusting prices (±10%) multiple times each day solely based on demand. There's no excuse for prices varying up to 30% from station-to-station in a very small geographic area. There's no excuse for pricing changing 20+% at once.

What would people think/say if restaurants started charging different prices for food based on the time of day? Want to eat at dinner time? OK, 20% premium... Lunch? 10% premium... Middle of the night? OK, you can have the base price. RIDICULOUS!

Crude prices? Tax structure? Supply and Demand? Sure, these all play a role, but there's something more going on than these three factors...

[d_jedi]

In other news, gas companies (Shell, Esso, etc.) are recording record profits.
HMM.. nope, nothing fishy going on there, nope.. not at all!

[Galasius]

In other news, gas companies (Shell, Esso, etc.) are recording record profits.
HMM.. nope, nothing fishy going on there, nope.. not at all!


We all know their record profits are the result of cost cutting and internal fiscal responsibility. :D

[itsmypostoffice]

let's set aside our gripes with the oil companies for a second and look at reasonable methods of lowering prices:

1) asking the feds to remove the GST for 1 month until wholesale prices stabilize. i don't understand why no gov't officials are speaking up to offer relief. we're not asking them to lower prices or rescind the GST --> but it IS a tax on tax.

2) why did we fund oil sands research & hibernia if there's no benefit to the rest of the country? our energy credits for exploration is subsidizing drilling with hopes of sustainable energy channels. instead of feeding the US, let's ensure prices are reasonable here in canada.

3) contact your MP and b*tch. you want to vent? then make them represent your needs --> higher gas prices means less money for food, diapers, job opportunities & higher overall inflation. there's a direct cost for every $0.01 increase. the feds love it cause martin can show a surplus, but this is no different than harris manipulating the books. we're the ones hurting while their limos are still idling outside.

we should be angry but unless we press our MPs to change their laissez-faire attitude then this place is going to crumble. yes, we're irresponsible and too stubborn to change our driving habits but right now we need relief. give us the lectures on energy efficiency when we can afford to do so, when every citizen has full-time employment.

[Headhunter]

This is why I ride public transit...at least their gouging is announced ahead of time, and relatively stable.

This morning my corner station was at 1.20. Now all of sudden it's down to .988. Someone please explain this to me. Was there a sudden burst of oil production while I was working?
Of course, the horse drawn carriages containing oil drums had finally arrived! :lol:

[akito925]

my friends uncle owns a gas station up north in north of the GTA. he buys the gas in bulk at a cost price of 93.6 cents a litre.. he sells it at 105.9 this is regular 87 gas.
so the owners at the gas station is making a profit.