After a brief reprieve for motorists, Canadian gas prices are set to shift broadly higher, according to an expert.
The average retail pump price in Canada has come down by about nine and a half cents a litre from its summertime high of 123.5 cents set during the week of July 14. But gas is about to make a U-turn.
In the Greater Toronto Area, pump prices are set to climb four cents overnight on Friday, with a similar jump of about three cents a litre expected to hit drivers in Vancouver and B.C.’s lower mainland, according to Canadian retail petroleum expert Dan McTeague.
MORE: Here’s why gas prices remain high in Canada while oil plummets
Prairie markets such as Calgary and Edmonton face an increase of about two cents in the coming days, McTeague predicted, while retail prices in Atlantic Canada will see a corresponding rise later next week. The market is fast-moving though, he said.
What is certain: U.S. wholesale prices have turned higher in recent days. “Look south. What happens to the price of gasoline in the United States matters,” he said.
The wholesale price of gas has climbed amid a general rally in markets, pushing up retail prices for U.S. motorists. Canadian prices are established in part by what the U.S. trading price for wholesale gas is, McTeague said. Oil prices have also unexpectedly shot higher.
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