Start with the observation
A date beside a price can mean the observation period, publication date or the time a website retrieved it. Keep those meanings separate. Rereading a stored figure does not make it a new observation. For a weekly series, identify the week before comparing it with a station sign or another report.
Compare the same product and unit
Regular gasoline, premium gasoline and diesel are different products. A number in Canadian dollars per litre cannot be compared directly with U.S. dollars per U.S. gallon. Currency and volume both need an explicit conversion. If the exchange-rate source and date are missing, leave the comparison in its original units.
Read the coverage
A station price describes a particular location. A survey estimate summarizes a defined area and sample. EIA publishes regular gasoline estimates for U.S. areas, with a methodology reference. Those estimates do not promise the same price at every station. An arithmetic average of a few city records is not automatically a national or provincial average.
| Check | Useful question |
|---|---|
| Period | When was this price observed? |
| Product | Which fuel and grade does it describe? |
| Unit | Which currency and volume unit are used? |
| Coverage | A station, city sample, region or national estimate? |
| Evidence | Can I trace this number to the dated source? |
Separate crude oil from retail fuel
Crude benchmarks and retail gasoline describe different products and points in the supply chain. Refineries turn crude into usable fuels; a crude quote alone does not determine a particular station price. See NRCan's gasoline-price explanation and our guide to reading oil-price quotes.
Follow the source
Use NRCan's transportation fuel-price references for Canadian context and EIA's gasoline and diesel release for U.S. area estimates. Check each source's notes and dates. Our pump-price context page explains which local records are withheld and identifies its separately checked, dated reference. This guide is educational context; it supplies no current station-price forecast.