Motorists will dig deep this summer

CALGARY — The dice appear to be loaded against gasoline consumers heading toward summer.

While Alberta pump prices in mid-May increased an average eight cents per litre more compared with the same period last year, the hiatus in demand and supply for refined products in the country remains little changed, even with oil prices hovering in the mid-$60s US.

More important, perhaps, member states of OPEC are fast joining ranks to thwart recent moves by industry and pressure groups in North America and Europe to open the valves.


“There is no shortage of (oil) supply in the market and there is no need to call for an (extra-ordinary) meeting,” OPEC president and oil minister of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed Al-Hameli, stated categorically just ahead of the May long weekend, the traditional start to the North American summer driving season. “The market is balanced.”

Days later, OPEC secretary-general Abdulla Salem El-Badri called for a hands-off approach, stating that undue pressure should not be put on the Vienna-based oil group.

Financial Post