The Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission announced today that wholesalers have been authorized to increase prices in their dealer and consumer schedules by 8.5 cents per litre (cpl) on gasoline, by 1.0 cpl on diesel and by 3.0 cpl on furnace fuel and stove oil, effective 12:01 a.m. Saturday, April 1, 2006. Accordingly, pump prices for regular unleaded gasoline at self-serve outlets will now range from 107.5 cents per litre to 109.1 cents per litre.
In announcing the price increases, the Commission indicated that a continued rise in world crude and refined product prices over the past two weeks has necessitated further price adjustments at this time. Specifically, persistent supply disruptions in the Gulf of Mexico and Nigeria have effectively reduced global crude supply by up to 1,000,000 barrels per day. This combined with the continued stand off between the United Nations and Iran over that country’s nuclear enrichment program and further gasoline specific supply concerns related to industry ethanol conversion activities in North American markets have resulted in an escalation of petroleum commodity prices.
Commission Chair Moe Rogerson notes that the Commission’s pricing model utilizes an averaging process and as a result Island pump prices have been significantly below those observed in neighboring Maritime cities for some time now. Issues currently facing the market including continued high crude prices, seasonal demand concerns and impending environmental regulations may serve to continue upward pressure on gasoline prices, in particular, in the coming months and as a result the Commission will be monitoring the situation on a daily basis.
On a more positive note, the pricing process will allow for a reduction in propane prices at this time. Irving Oil Marketing Limited received approval to reduce by 1.9 cpl and Superior Propane Inc. received approval to decrease by 2.3 cpl all propane prices contained in their respective propane pricing schedules based on decreases in costs.
The Commission’s next scheduled price adjustment will be on April 15th.