Metro Vancouver drivers are being encouraged to fill up before the long weekend, as the region experiences a significant break in gas prices.
The price of gas went down 10 cents per litre over the weekend, and is down 25 cents in a month.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at Gas Buddy, said there are multiple factors at play, including the elimination of the carbon price, the falling price of crude oil amid the trade war, and a major refinery coming back online in California.
“Some of the prices that we’re seeing today are at multi-year lows, the lowest prices now since the pandemic,” he said.
“There are a lot of levers that can move the price of gasoline. Sometimes all those levers are pushing one way, and right now they’re all pushing down. Now those levers could ultimately shift.”
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The current average price at the pump around the Lower Mainland is $1.53.7 per litre, a full 55 cents lower than this time last year, according to De Haan.
Up the Fraser Valley, prices fell as low as $1.45.7 in Abbotsford, while some areas saw it fall below $1.40.
“A lot of the time, it simply can be subject to timing,” he said. “If a gas station got the timing right and bought gasoline on the lowest day of the week, they are able to pass that along.”
But De Haan said the deep dip could be short-lived.
A rally in the price of oil, or a breakdown at any of the major west coast refineries, could send prices shooting back up, he warned.
“Sooner is better than later,” he said.
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