FORT McMURRAY — Gas prices are running higher as disruptions to global oil and fuel supplies continue to put pressure on motorists.
Prices in Fort McMurray currently range from 161.8 to 163.9 cents per litre.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, says gasoline prices have been moving higher as oil prices rebound amid the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries.
De Haan says the Strait of Hormuz remains one of the biggest factors affecting crude markets, while attacks on Russian refining infrastructure are having an even greater effect on refined products such as gasoline and diesel.
The Strait of Hormuz standoff is now entering its sixth month, with renewed attacks on shipping helping push Brent crude above US$90 per barrel briefly last week.
West Texas Intermediate crude was trading at about US$82 per barrel in overnight trading, up from just under US$80 a week earlier. Brent was trading at about US$88.50, compared with US$85 a week earlier.
Fuel supplies are also tight.
U.S. gasoline inventories were about six per cent below their five-year seasonal average in the latest reporting period, while distillate inventories were about 12 per cent below average.
De Haan says diesel has been particularly sensitive to attacks on Russian refineries because those disruptions directly reduce the availability of refined petroleum products.
Some seasonal relief could be coming as refineries begin transitioning to less expensive winter-blend gasoline over the coming month.
However, De Haan says the two major pressures on fuel markets, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks on Russian refining infrastructure, show no signs of ending in the immediate future.
Until either situation changes, he says gasoline and diesel prices remain under upward pressure.
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