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Gas Is Still $1.81 a Litre: Why Pump Prices Won't Fall (and What to Do Before Winter)

  Canadians hoping for relief at the pump got bad news heading into this week: it isn't coming soon. The national average for regular gas was $1.81 a litre on Friday, according to Kalibrate, with provincial averages ranging from $1.557 in Alberta to $2.156 in Newfoundland, per GasBuddy. That's after a big policy move. On Friday the G7 announced plans to release 100 million barrels of oil right away, starting with diesel. Brent crude dipped on the news, then climbed back to about US$102 a barrel by the afternoon. Don't expect the release to show up at your station, because crude is only half the story. Crude oil explains only half your pump price Wood Mackenzie's Jim Mitchell says crude makes up 50 to 60 per cent of the retail price of gas. The rest is the cost of refining it, and that's where the squeeze is. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem pointed to damaged refining capacity worldwide in a Sept. 21 speech, noting that pump prices reflect crude roughly US$40 a ...
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US Stock Futures Rise as Techs Power Higher Again

 

US stock futures rose on Monday to put the S&P 500 on track for another record high, as investors became more upbeat about the health of the economy and looked to coming earnings for signs of an AI boom for techs. 

The S&P 500 futures gained 0.3%, after the index notched its first record close since January 2022 on Friday. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added roughly 0.2%, while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 jumped 0.6%. 

An AI-fueled surge in tech shares has helped pull stocks out of their early-2024 doldrums, bringing the major indexes into positive territory for January. Given that, quarterly results from the likes of Netflix and Tesla later this week will be closely watched, as how tech earnings perform could well indicate where the market heads in the short term. 

At the same time, the Federal Reserve officials whose comments have buffeted stocks will stay quiet ahead of policymakers’ next meeting on Jan. 30. But readings on GDP and the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge later in the week could shed light on the debate that has been driving markets: when the Fed will pivot to cutting interest rates.


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