As wholesale prices fell 20 cents from a mid-June high, Calgary retail prices remained stuck above 190 cents a litre.
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Fuel price analyst Dan McTeague said retailers in Calgary are “stripping” Calgary drivers as they continue to charge prices above 190 cents a liter.
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Gasbuddy.com pegged Calgary’s average retail price at 190.5 cents a liter as of Saturday. A handful of stores offered regular fuel for 187.9 cents a liter in the afternoon.
“This is pretty plucked,” McTeague said. “Is not acceptable. And gas stations should be held accountable. Those who charge 191.9 (cents per litre) should be held accountable for the fact that they charge a retail mark-up of more than 32 cents.”
He said retailers must charge 10 to 12 cents above cost to turn on lights and pay staff, while still making a profit, but found most were charging more than double.
McTeague made the calculations based on a shelf price of 130.6 cents per litre, which was listed on both Petro-Canada Y shell websites for Saturday.
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He said retailers then add 11.05 cents for carbon tax and 10 cents for federal excise duty, plus 5 per cent GST. That gives retailers in Calgary a base cost of 159 cents a liter, based on Saturday’s retail price.
He suggested retail costs should be closer to 169 or 171 cents per litre, depending on that base cost.
“These are pure and simple gas sticks that prey on the public to the tune of at least 15 or 20 cents a liter,” McTeague said.
It has been watching rack costs drop for weeks, with little movement in prices in Western Canada. The standard price of gasoline peaked at 151.8 cents per liter in Calgary on June 10 and has trended lower since that date. Gasoline prices have been at or above 190.9 since June 8.
“Two weeks ago I tweeted that by next Monday, last week, you should see a decline of about 10 cents a liter,” McTeague said. “Nothing happened.”
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University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe said he doesn’t think prices are too steep based on current data. He said that retail margins go up and down regularly, and that the latest swing is within the bounds of previous swings.
“Over the last six months, the two-week change in retail margins has been above 9 cents per liter 15 per cent of the time and then falls. It is a volatile measure and does not imply a lack of competition,” said Tombe.
McTeague said he’s not sure current prices have anything to do with the province temporarily lifting its 13 cents a liter gas tax on April 1.
“I’m not sure this is related to the gas tax reduction at all because, over the last couple of months, they (gas retailers) have been doing pretty well,” he said.
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Gasoline prices fell in Alberta when the province lowered the tax, but since then other market pressures have pushed the price even higher.
Postmedia contacted the province for a response on current prices, but received no response.
Speaking in late March, Premier Jason Kenney said the province would be watching retailers “like a hawk” after Alberta lowered its tax.
“We send a clear message to petrol retailers that we will not take any gambling on this,” the prime minister said days before the tax was lifted. “If they don’t pass on these tax savings, if they try to pocket a piece of it, we’ll be prepared to resort to using legal tools to protect consumers and we’re open to potentially bringing in regulatory power to force retailers to approve. on those savings.”
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