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A person fills up a fuel tank at a pay-at-the-pump gasoline station in Edmonton, on January 30, 2025, in Edmonton, AB, Canada. 

Artur Widak | Nurphoto | Getty Images

President Donald Trump‘s threatened tariffs on Canadian crude oil imports could raise gasoline prices for U.S. drivers if the levies are enacted next month, according to major refiners and energy analysts.

Trump issued an executive order on Feb. 1 imposing a 10% tariff on Canadian energy imports to the U.S., in addition to sweeping 25% levies on goods from from Canada and Mexico. The tariffs are currently on hold until March 4 after Mexico City and Ottawa reached an agreement with the White House.

Refiners particularly in the Midwest have become reliant on Canadian crude imports despite the fact that the U.S. is the largest oil producer in the world, outpacing Saudi Arabia and Russia. This is because Canadian crude is heavier, lower quality and therefore cheaper to purchase, according to Wells Fargo analysts.

Marathon Petroleum processes a significant amount of heavy crude and expects costs to increase if the tariffs on Canadian energy go into effect, CEO Maryann Mannen told investors recently.

“We believe that the majority of that would be borne by the producer and then frankly to a lesser extent the consumer,” Mannen said on the company’s Feb. 4 earnings call. “We’re working with the administration. We’re working with agencies as well as the trade associations to ensure the right people understand the implications of these decisions.”

The U.S. imports nearly 6.6 million barrels per day of crude oil with about 60% coming from Canada, according to Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. Midwest refiners in particular are heavily dependent on these imports with 70% of the crude they process into diesel and gasoline coming from Canada, according to Lipow.

How much fuel prices would rise due to the tariffs depends on how Canadian producers and U.S. refiners respond. In general, a 10% tariff passed to the consumer would increase gasoline and diesel prices by about 15 cents per gallon, Lipow said in a Feb. 2 note.

Canadian prime minister candidate Chrystia Freeland, who previously served as finance minister, has warned that oil producers in Canada have alternatives to the U.S. market.

Former Canadian FM Chrystia Freeland on Trump tariff pause: What happened is common sense prevailed

“There is a danger here for the U.S., and that is Canadians are really angry,” Freeland told CNBC in a Feb. 4 interview. “We will retaliate if we have to. You should be glad that you have us as a reliable energy supplier. We do have alternatives.”

U.S. refiners, however, have “few economically and politically viable alternatives” to Canada’s heavy crude, Mason Mendez, investment strategy analyst at Wells Fargo, told clients in a report Monday. Domestic production could replace some lost Canadian supply but U.S. crude is generally lighter than Canadian oil, Lipow said. Many U.S. refiners have physical limitations on switching totally to light crude oil, he said.

Canadian producers could divert exports from the U.S. East and West Coasts to Europe and Asia instead, Lipow said. This would force U.S. refiners on the East Coast to seek more expensive alternatives in West Africa and West Coast refiners to buy from South America or the Middle East, he said.

In the case of the Midwest, Canada does not have the logistics in place to divert all its exports away from the region, Lipow said. But they would probably try to find other buyers to the extent that they can, he said.

Traders might bid up the price of U.S. crude oil to cover any shortfall in region. Fuel prices might rise by up to 15 cents per gallon as a consequence, Lipow said. But if the tariffs cause local shortages, prices could spike by more than 30 cents per gallon.

The Midwest also does not have easy access to imports through the Gulf Coast because the pipeline system in the U.S. generally runs north to south and west to east, Lipow said.

With few alternatives, U.S. refiners will likely continue to purchase crude from Canada despite the higher cost, Mendez said. They may be able to convince Canadian producers to absorb part of the tariff rather than pass all of it on to the U.S., the analyst said.

“However, even if they split the effects of a 10% tariff, U.S. gasoline prices will likely still rise modestly,” Mendez said.

Don’t miss these energy insights from CNBC PRO:

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Kia’s electric sports car, the EV6 GT, is a steal at nearly $20,000 off

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Kia's electric sports car, the EV6 GT, is a steal at nearly ,000 off

Kia’s electric sports car will smoke a Ferrari and Lamborghini off the line, and it’s already less than half the cost. Now, Kia’s 576 horsepower EV6 GT is even cheaper to drive with nearly $20,000 in lease savings. Here’s how you can get your hands on one.

The EV6 GT arrived in 2022 as the “most powerful Kia production vehicle ever.” With up to 576 horsepower, Kia’s electric sports car can sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds.

Kia went all out, adding fun features and different drive modes, such as “GT” and “drift.” The GT drive mode adjusts the vehicle’s motor, brakes, steering, suspension, and more for better performance.

To prove its power, Kia put its EV sports car up against a Ferrari Roma and Lamborghini Huracan EVO Spyder. Certified by an independent test from AMCI, the Kia EV6 GT beat both off the line. Not only is the Kia faster, but it’s also about half the cost.

The 2024 Kia EV6 GT starts at $61,600. A 2024 Ferrari Roma will run you about $245,000, while a new 2024 Lamborghini Huracan EVO Spyder starts at just over $300,000.

Kia-EV6-GT-lease
2024 Kia EV6 GT (Source: Kia)

According to online car research firm CarsDirect, the 2024 Kia EV6 GT now features $19,050 in lease cash (24-month lease). With the option of Single Pay leases, you can also score lower lease rates.

If you’re looking for something with a little less performance (and a lower price), Kia is offering $10,000 in Customer Cash on all 2024 EV6 models. The EV6 Light Long Range RWD ($45,950 MSRP) is listed for lease at just $179 for 24 months, with $3,499 due upfront.

The discounts come with the new 2025 model year arriving, which has an even longer driving range (319 miles Kia-est) and an NACS port for charging at Tesla Superchargers. The new EV6 GT trim will also pull additional features from Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 N, including a Virtual Gear Shift (VGS) function.

Want to get behind the wheel of Kia’s electric sports car and test it out for yourself? You can use our link to find the best deals on the 2024 Kia EV6 (including the GT model) near you.

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India’s oil minister says ‘we play by the rules,’ as markets weigh U.S. energy sanctions

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India's oil minister says 'we play by the rules,' as markets weigh U.S. energy sanctions

Watch CNBC's interview with India's oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri

India will cooperate with international sanctions, the country’s oil minister told CNBC on Tuesday, as markets eye future U.S. policy under the new administration of President Donald Trump.

“We play by the rules. If there is an international sanction, which is anchored, we would not want to go around it or anything,” India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri told CNBC’s Sri Jegarajah on the sidelines of the annual India Energy Week conference.

“On Russia, yes, there was a price cap, and we adhered strictly to the price cap. Going forward, if there are issues, we will address them.”

India’s refiners have been snapping up discounted Russian oil since Western and G7 energy sanctions barred many consumers from Moscow’s supplies, in an effort to whittle down Russia’s war coffers after its invasion of Ukraine. Countries not subject to the measures have been able to use insurance and shipping providers to facilitate the acquisition and transport of Russian crude procured under a price threshold.

New Delhi has repeatedly defended its purchases as a matter of national interest.

“There is no sanctioned country, first of all. It’s a lot of misrepresentation that’s taking place. Today, Europe still buys 25% of its gas from Russia. They buy other critical energy from there. So there’s no sanction,” the energy minister said Tuesday.

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He also signaled that the government of Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden, had endorsed India’s bolstered intake of Russian oil.

“I’ve had a chat with the Americans, the previous administration. They said, please buy as much as you like. Just make sure that you buy it within the price cap. And that’s what we did,” Puri said. CNBC has reached out to the U.S. State Department for comment.

India met about 88% of its oil needs via imports between April and November 2024, little changed from a year earlier, official data showed. As of January, about 40% of those imports came from Russia, data from trade intelligence firm Kpler suggests.

In 2021, Russian oil accounted for just 12% of the country’s oil imports by volume. By 2024, that share had surged to over 37%, according to Kpler data.

Sanctions in focus

The U.S. has been key in shaping global energy policy through sanctions over the past decade. In January, the U.S. imposed sweeping measures targeting Russia’s energy firms and the operators of vessels transporting oil — a move that analysts believe will make it harder for buyers like India to continue importing cheap Russian crude.

Investors have been waiting to see whether the newly installed Trump will pursue a ramp-up or relaxation of U.S. energy restrictions — critical to markets because the U.S. dollar denominates crude and oil product commodities.

Trump imposed sanctions affecting the Iranian and Venezuelan energy sectors during his first mandate and has taken an “America First” approach that could further incentivize domestic output — amid questions over the impact that threatened U.S. tariffs could have on global supply elsewhere.

Puri signaled his country would not be adverse to additional acquisitions of U.S. volumes. “If Americans are putting in more energy onto the global market, somebody asked me: ‘Are you going to buy more? I said: ‘I’d be surprised if we don’t.’ Because it’s in the natural flow,” he added.

The sanctions and trade developments are coinciding with a period when India’s oil consumption growth has outpaced that of China, contributing to 25% of the global increase in oil consumption.

“I am convinced that geopolitical tensions need to be managed,” Puri said Tuesday, noting current characterizations of supply-demand fundamentals in the oil market are “depending on whom you’re talking to and depending on where they stand on the equation,” as producers or consumers.

“A country like India, with a robust demand and a current consumption of 5.5 million barrels [per day] has a contribution to make in terms of which way the market goes. And we… we plan to use that leverage,” the oil minister added.

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In January, US EV prices held steady, incentive spending fell

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In January, US EV prices held steady, incentive spending fell

US EV prices held steady in January, and incentive spending dropped 3.1% from December, according to the latest monthly new-vehicle average transaction price (ATP) report from Cox Automotive’s Kelley Blue Book. 

Average transaction prices for EVs in January, at $55,614, were higher by nearly 1% compared to a downwardly revised December. EV prices last month were lower year-over-year by 1.4%. Incentive spending on EVs in January decreased by 3.1% compared to December but was higher by 48.6% year-over-year.

Overall, EV costs are falling – compared to the overall auto industry, EV ATPs were higher by 14.3%. A year ago, the price premium versus the industry was 17.4%.

ATPs for market leader Tesla, at $55,380, were higher year-over-year by 4.5%. Cybertruck prices fell year-over-year by 6.5% to just under $98,000. Model X prices were also lower year-over-year.

The two most popular EVs in the US, the Model Y and Model 3, both saw transaction prices increase year-over-year by 2.2% and 6.2%, respectively.

The $7,500 tax credit is now missing from the Tesla website. What will Tesla’s February sales volume look like?

As for total new-vehicle sales volume in January, it was higher year-over-year by 5.1% but lower by more than 25% compared to a robust December. New-vehicle inventory at the beginning of January was below 3 million units for the first time since late October.

Read more: In December, EV sales were still up and incentives were still sweet – Kelley Blue Book


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