Thank you.
One of the four components that we would normally look at in terms of a litre of gasoline is taxes, which range from 33% to 35%, but because taxes vary across the provinces we mostly look at gasoline in a fashion we call ex-tax. When we compare it to the U.S. we see that ex-tax our price for a litre of gasoline is very similar. The three components other than tax, if we talk about an ex-tax price, are crude oil, which currently, 2000 year-to-date, represents 67%; wholesale margin, which year-to-date is about 25%; and then the retail margin is about 8%. That would make up the three components.
Obviously in the times we are experiencing right now, the retail margin, which is 10¢, 11¢, or 12¢ normally, has shot up and it is currently declining. Last week it declined about 5¢ and now averages about 14¢. In the periods of the peaks, particularly in the spring, it's shooting up over 20¢.
It's not a question of crude, which is the single largest determinant of the price and historically has been the big item that has increased. What we're seeing more often, particularly in the spring and after natural disasters, are spikes in the refinery margins due to concerns about supply.