December 2024. Kalibrate's Canadian Petroleum Price Snapshot

Gasoline

In December, Canada’s average retail gasoline price increased by 1.6 cents per litre over the month. Although Canadian crude input prices rose 3.7 cents per litre over December as crude oil inventories declined over the month, lower seasonal gasoline demand likely prevented retail gasoline prices from rising the full amount of crude oil prices.

The biggest price increase in December occurred in Edmonton, Alberta, where retail gasoline prices rose 11.2 cents per litre to 145.7 by the month’s end. In contrast, retail gasoline prices declined in December the most in North Bay, Ontario, where prices fell 13.5 cents per litre, ending the month at 141.9. Overall, retail gasoline prices ended December the highest in Whitehorse, Yukon, at 179.9 cents per litre, and finished the month the lowest in Brandon, Manitoba, at 120.1 cents per litre.

Compared to the end of last year, reail gasoline prices in Canada were 9.8 cents per litre higher, attributable to higher crude oil prices and a higher tax component. Crude oil prices climbed in early 2024 following increased geopolitical tensions in the Middle East but declined in the second half of the year as tensions eased in the Middle East and concerns mounted regarding economic growth, particularly in key markets such as China. Overall, crude oil prices ended the year 6.9 cents per litre higher than at the end of last year. Petroleum taxes also rose in Canada in 2024, up on average 4.7 cents per litre over the year following higher carbon taxes, levied in nearly all of Canada’s provinces and territories, and as the province of Alberta reinstated gasoline taxes. Due to extreme petroleum price increases experienced in 2022, the province of Alberta had provided petroleum tax relief. Petroleum taxes were fully reinstated in April of 2024 in this province.

Diesel

Retail diesel prices in Canada also increased in December, rising 2.8 cents per litre as crude oil prices increased. Diesel fuel is part of the distillate fuel group, which includes home heating fuel, a similar product. A mild start to the winter in North America has contributed to rising distillate inventories in December, allowing diesel prices a softer increase compared to crude oil prices this past month.

In December, diesel prices increased the most in Canada in Brampton, Ontario, rising 6.0 cents per litre to end the month at 163.8, while in nearby Sarnia, Ontario, diesel prices fell the most, falling 6.4 cents per litre over the month to 151.5. Retail diesel prices in Canada ended December the highest in Labrador City, Newfoundland, at 192.0 cents per litre and the lowest in Brandon, Manitoba, at 147.4 cents per litre.

Compared to the end of last year, diesel prices in Canada were 2.5 cents per litre higher. Although, like gasoline, the crude and tax components of the pump price ended the year higher, the refining margin, also known as the crack spread, narrowed by 3.7 cents per litre over the year, leading to a softer rise in diesel prices compared to gasoline. Diesel fuel, used in industry, construction, and manufacturing, is consequently tied to the economy’s health. Lower economic growth in Canada in 2024 may have reduced diesel fuel use and led to narrower margins by the year’s end. However, strong North American refinery utilization this past year, leading to increased distillate production and rising inventories, may also have contributed to narrower diesel fuel crack spreads in 2024.

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: Charting.kalibrate.com/