Gasoline:
Retail gasoline prices increased 18.3 cents per litre to 185.3 in July
Canadian retail gasoline prices climbed throughout July as crude oil prices rose and the gasoline crack spread reached an all-time high. The conflict in the Middle East continued to influence crude price movements. As the conflict eased in early July and crude oil shipments began flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, crude oil prices declined. With the crude oil component of the gas price reaching 60.9 cents per litre, this was the lowest level since February. However, this was short-lived, as the conflict escalated through the remainder of July, with the crude oil component climbing to 83.4 cents per litre just a few weeks later. Crude oil price movements were not the only factor affecting retail gasoline prices in July. Lower product inventories pushed wholesale gasoline prices higher, widening the gasoline crack spread – the difference between wholesale prices and crude input prices to refineries. The spread reached an all-time high for gasoline in July, with the Canadian refinery margin reaching 70.8 cents per litre on July 9. Consequently, Canadians are experiencing higher retail gasoline prices this summer, up 18.3 cents per litre at the end of July compared to a month ago, and 38.5 cents per litre compared to a year ago.
All markets surveyed by Kalibrate saw retail gasoline prices increase in July, with increases ranging from 2.5 cents per litre in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, to as much as 33.2 cents per litre in Fort St. John, British Columbia. At the end of July, the cheapest gasoline price could be found in Sarnia, Ontario, at 165.2 cents per litre, while the most expensive was in Labrador City, Newfoundland, at 209.8 cents per litre.
Diesel:
Retail diesel prices increased 40.7 cents per litre to 230.6 in July
Canadian retail diesel prices remained elevated in July. Like gasoline, diesel inventories are unusually low. This is partly due to the conflict in the Middle East and the escalation of the Russia/Ukraine war. Increased attacks by Ukraine on Russia’s oil infrastructure have severely curtailed Russia’s ability to produce diesel fuel, contributing to a global shortage. Consequently, the diesel crack spread expanded in July, reaching an all-time high near the end of the month at 114.1 cents per litre, beating the previous record set earlier this year in March at 108.8 cents per litre. As crude oil prices climbed and the diesel crack spread expanded, retail diesel prices were pushed higher in July, ending the month 40.7 cents per litre higher than at the end of June and 76.0 cents per litre higher than a year ago.
Like gasoline, all Kalibrate-surveyed markets posted diesel price increases in July, ranging from 9.0 cents per litre in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories to as much as 54.1 cents per litre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Overall, at the end of July, the lowest diesel price was observed in Edmonton, Alberta, at 197.3 cents per litre, while the highest was found in Gatineau, Quebec, at 258.2 cents per litre.
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Kalibrate Canada conducts 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 this website: Charting.kalibrate.com
