Whats Driving Gasoline Pump Prices Up?
With record high world crude oil prices, many consumers are wondering what is happening to gasoline prices. The chart below compares the various components of retail gasoline prices for the first quarter of 2008 to the same period in 2007. Overall, retail gasoline prices rose to $1.08 per litre, from 93 cents per litre, up 14 cents per litre in this period of time. Crude oil, by far the largest component of the total gasoline pump price, rose nearly 19 cents per litre in the first quarter of 2008 compared to the first quarter of 2007. Globally, the combination of rising world oil consumption and a host of other market and non-market factors are putting upward pressure on oil prices. As shown in the chart below, crude oil rose to 61 cents per litre in the first quarter of 2008 compared to 42 cents per litre in the first quarter of 2007, representing 57% and 45% of the pump price respectively. This increase also represented a 44% increase in the crude oil price for the same period year-o
