A little of topic aren't we boys?But then - nothing else to do but wait.
Regarding the price of gasoline - it's a surprisingly complex set of factors that affect the price. There are these super brainy guys at the pipeline companies that run very complex models on what transport costs - so that is a variable. Storage price goes up as remaining storage capacity goes down. Refining costs do the same. If a camel burps in the ME, the price goes up....etc etc.
We love to complain about the price of gas in Canada, but the truth is that taxes play as large part:
- 40 - 55 per cent is crude oil costs (the raw material for making gasoline and diesel fuel)
- 25 - 35 per cent is federal, provincial and municipal taxes and the GST
- 10 - 25 per cent is the refiner's margin (the difference between what it costs to buy crude oil and the price refined gasoline sells for in the wholesale market which, in turn, is influenced by supply and demand)
- 4 - 6 per cent is the marketing (or retail) margin that covers retail stations’ expenses and profits.
As you can see - pretty large variances. The biggest difference between the provinces is the second bullet - taxes.
I work in Heavy Oil and I don't have current status as a member of the Green Party - but IMO the price of fuel is cheap, cheap cheap right now. How do I know? Well, yesterday as I was stuck in traffic coming out of downtown, I was beside a smart car. It struck me how rare those things are in Calgreedy. If gas was expensive, you'd see more smart cars and fewer SUVs.
The price of fuel affects the price of just about everything else, but if I look at it - gas at the pump is cheap. My parking downtown costs $500/month. I drive a pretty nice car - so with depreciation it's probably $1000 per month. Insurance is another $150. I drive about 50km round trip (by myself) and probably fill up every two weeks for about $70-80. So my transport costs are about $1720/month, of which less than $100 is fuel. I'm not alone of the roads either.
BTW - if you really want cheap nationalized oil and subsidized gasoline, you really ought to head to Venezuela. Gasoline is 10 cents per gallon. Everybody in the country gets the same price. Basically Utopia. Ever been there (other than a resort). I think I'd rater pay $1.3 per litre and live here.