September 2023 Canadian Petroleum Price Snapshot

Gasoline

September retail gasoline prices fell 3.0 cpl to 169.2

Retail gasoline prices in Canada climbed through the first half of September before falling during the second half of the month to end at 3.0 cents per litre lower than the end of August. Tightening global crude oil inventories led to rising crude prices and contributed to higher retail gasoline prices during the first half of the month.

Despite crude prices continuing to climb during the second half of the month, gasoline prices fell as demand softened and North American gasoline inventories rose. The exception to falling gasoline prices was along the West Coast, where retail prices climbed over ten cents per litre in September upon refinery issues south of the border. However, price relief in the region is likely in store, as wholesale prices in Western Canada fell over thirty-eight cents per litre this past week.

Diesel

September retail diesel prices rose 0.2 cpl to 190.8

Retail diesel prices in Canada reached their highest level since the start of the year in mid-September before tapering off to end the month 0.2 cents per litre higher than at the end of August. Most provinces experienced an increase in retail diesel prices in September, the largest increase occurring in Atlantic Canada, where prices rose an average of nearly seven cents per litre over the month. North American distillate inventories are unseasonably low for this time of year at 13.9 percent below the previous 10-year average for September (EIA). Along the East Coast, inventories are 38.5 percent lower than the previous 10-year average. With several refineries in Canada closed for maintenance during the next month and low inventories to cushion unexpected supply issues, diesel prices will likely be prone to price spikes this fall.

We conduct a daily survey of retail gasoline, diesel, propane, and furnace fuel prices in 77 Canadian cities.

Canadian petroleum prices are available for download and display using a variety of analytic tools on our website: https://charting.kalibrate.com/