Tuesday, September 12, 2006

August and Early September of 2006 - The Highs and Lows in gasoline prices

So here we go again with the yo-yo gasoline prices. I guess I should not complain, at least they are lower than they have been for some time.

One of the reasons that I began this gasoline Blog is so that I have a record of gasoline prices that is available to look at years and even decades from now. I want my children to see how cheap gasoline was at 80 and 90 cents per litre when your dad was a young 47 years old in 2006!

Today's entry will show some prices around Mississauga over the past month or so. Crude prices have dropped dramatically, the war between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza has calmed down significantly, we've had zero Atlantic hurricanes so far that have been of any significance and certainly none that have threatened the supply of crude or gasoline in the Gulf of Mexico or surrounding areas, the US economy is wavering, our economy is softening somewhat, certainly real estate prices seem to have plateaued and in general there is much calm locally, nationally and internationally. My opinions of course.

I don't have a photo to show you, I guess I could photocopy my bill, but we took a vacation in early August to relax and do some boating in the Lindsay area and I was totally disgusted at the gasoline prices on the 401 along the way. Prices were $109.9 at almost every station. Here's the clincher. We were boating just north of Lindsay on Sturgeon Lake and Pigeon Lake in the Bobcaygen area. We went through the lock at Bobcaygen, see us in this photo,


and ended up boating for about 35 kilometers along the Trent Severn Waterway and on the way back I figured that better safe than sorry, so I pulled into the famous Gordon Marine on the east (lower) side of the Bobcaygen lock for gas. There was a 37 foot Sea Ray gulping in some much needed gasoline. I took at look at the pump and needless to say, I've never seen gasoline prices that high. (As an aside, last summer we were boating at Pointe-Au-Baril and highway gasoline prices were about $1.00 to $1.05 per liter and at the dock at Desmandens marina I needed gas and paid $1.14.9 per liter, this was the highest I had seen during 2005). The gasoline price at Gordon Marina was $1.29 per litre. Needless to say I only put in $50, enough to ensure a safe 17km trip home. I asked the attendant what the Sea Ray put in and his quick comment was, "$200 - just enough to get him home" If gasoline were $1.20 per litre in the USA, they would storm the capital in Washington and Lynch the president!

At any rate, here is my next observation and photo of gasoline prices.

On August 24th I was absolutely ecstatic to see gasoline prices below a dollar let alone under 90 cents per litre.















By the next week when we were back in the city, August 28, 2006, prices had risen again to 91.5 cents per litre at the Esso at the corner of Erin Mills Parkway and Credit Valley Road.

















The next day prices had fallen by 8 cents per litre - overnight! I was furious at the yo-yo ing but happy at the absolute value.















The following day, prices were down even further to 79.9, this was on August 30, 2006
















Over the next week I had seen prices at the pump as low as 76.9 cents per liter. I'd heard that at some stations the price hit 74.9 cents per litre. By the following week on September 6th, prices were somewhat levelling out at about 78.5 cents per litre.
















Today, I saw an outrageous price at a Sunoco on Mississauga Road just south of Streetsville.





















If you look carefully you will see that there is a ladder under the sign and maintenance workers are testing the sign as this station is about to re-open after some serious renovations! The most significant item in the photo above is the fact that the first number is a 4, is Sunoco preparing for future prices in the $4 per litre range... that is a very scarey thought.

The bottom line is that we are currently experiencing some exceptionally low gasoline prices in Mississauga and surrounding areas and I don't think that these prices will be around for too much longer. We've had this lull of global in-activity and almost surely there will be another Atlantic hurricane to come along that will cause some hype and increased pressure on gasoline prices. Only time will tell. These prices may be the last of the under 80 cents per liter and now we can share these stories with our grandchildren.

This photo was an interesting diversion in Lindsay, not only is the car 'half size' but so is the house number! This is probably our future, half the size of our present day automobiles, half the house size and half the energy consumption to offset our higher energy costs all around.















All the best,
Mark


For more information please contact A. Mark Argentino

A. Mark Argentino Associate Broker, P.Eng.,
Specializing in Residential & Investment Real Estate
RE/MAX Realty Specialists Inc.
2691 Credit Valley Road, Suite 101, Mississauga, Ontario L5M 7A1

BUS 905-828-3434
FAX 905-828-2829
E-MAIL mark@mississauga4sale.com
Website: Mississauga4Sale.com

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