The Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission announced today that wholesalers have been authorized to increase prices in their dealer and consumer schedules by 5.0 cents per litre (cpl) on gasoline, by 5.0 cpl on diesel and by 4.0 cpl on furnace fuel and stove oil, effective 12:01 a.m. Friday, December 1, 2006.
Pump prices for regular unleaded gasoline at self-serve outlets will now range from 97.7 cpl to 99.3 cpl.
There will be no changes in propane prices at this time.
In announcing the price changes, the Commission indicated that, while crude market prices have fluctuated moderately over the past month between $58.00 and $60.00 per barrel, they have increased dramatically over the past several days to over $63.00 per barrel. In addition, refined product prices have similarly escalated over this same period necessitating an upward adjustment in product margins at this time.
Over the past 14 days, crude prices have risen in excess of $3.50 per barrel due to a number of factors including the sliding value of the U.S. dollar, the market’s preoccupation with potential OPEC production cuts and, most recently, the prediction of colder, more seasonal winter weather.
The Commission noted that this is the second gasoline price increase since mid-November and reflects an end to a period of prices decreases since mid-August when Island self-serve prices peaked at $1.20 per litre.
The Commission’s next scheduled price adjustment will be on December 15, 2006.