The following is being distributed at the request of the Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities:

Weekly Adjustment of Maximum Prices of Regulated Petroleum Products

Effective 12:01 a.m. Thursday, March 31, 2011, the Public Utilities Board set maximum prices for all regulated petroleum products in all areas of the province, except where maximum price adjustments have been suspended for the winter months.

The changes to maximum fuel prices are as follows:

• all types of gasoline motor fuel increased by 1.9 or 2.0 cents per litre (cpl);
• diesel motor fuel decreased by 1.9 or 2.0 cpl;
• furnace oil heating fuel decreased by 1.36 cpl;
• stove oil heating fuel decreased by 0.08 cpl; and,
• propane heating fuel increased by 3.3 cpl.

These maximum prices reflect the change in the average benchmark price of the products over the seven-day period ending Tuesday of this week. As an example, the average benchmark price for gasoline, as tracked on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and converted to Canadian dollars, increased over the period by 1.74 cpl, resulting in a 2.0 cpl increase, accounting for taxation and rounding. The increases in the benchmark prices for gasoline for the period were offset to some extent by a higher Canadian dollar. Since fuel on the commodity markets is priced in U.S. currency, a higher Canadian dollar means it is not as costly to purchase these products.

The next scheduled price change is Thursday, April 7, 2011.

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1. Automotive Fuels - Maximum Retail Pump Prices - Effective March 31, 2011
2. Heating Fuels - Maximum Tank Wagon (or**Tank Farm) Prices - Effective March 31, 2011.

Media contact:
Michelle Hicks
Communications
1-866-489-8800, 489-8837
mhicks@pub.nl.ca or visit the board’s website: www.pub.nl.ca. 

2011 03 31             10:00 a.m.