If you don’t like the price of gas, wait a day. That’s the advice one analyst is giving after the price of gas increased over the long weekend.
Gas stations in Regina and Saskatoon saw prices rise high as $1.18 per litre through the weekend and into the first week of April.
Dan McTeague, senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy.com, says the increase is a result of higher demand in the U.S. and a weaker Canadian dollar.
“Some people may not be aware of the fact that if we don’t build enough pipelines in this country, our oil tends to get devalued,” McTeague said. “It’s our number one export and because it’s devalued to $36 a barrel when everyone in the United States is getting $63 or $64, it means the Canadian loonie has lost about a third of its value in the past year.”
McTeague adds the wholesale price of gas is around $1.05 per litre and gas stations are operating at a pretty steep retail margin.
McTeague also predicts that prices could go back up as refineries make the switch from winter gas to summer gas.
“That could mean a 0.3 cent to 0.4 cent per litre increase beginning next week.”