Drivers in Saskatchewan could face a painful picture at the pumps over the long weekend.
GasBuddy’s Dan McTeague predicts drivers could see up to a 10 cents per litre jump in prices.
“Right now for any gas station across the province it’s going to cost them about $1.19 a litre to buy their fuel, tax in. I’m seeing a lot of $1.21.4 a litre, some selling for even less than that,” McTeague said.
“That’s OK when you have a normal amount of fuel that you’re dispensing, but suddenly you see a spike, a doubling in demand, often retailers have to protect themselves and raise those prices,” he continued.
McTeague noted the majority of those purchases come with additional losses before external factors, like that price of oil, are even accounted for.
“Half of the purchases are usually done with rewards cards, loyalty cards, or credit cards. All of those usually run two to four cents per litre, so now you’re talking $1.23 a litre or $1.24 a litre and you’re selling gasoline at a loss of three cents per litre,” he said.
Thankfully, he doesn’t expect it to last long.
“We could very well – by Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday of next week – be right back down below $1.25/L within the next five or six days.”
McTeague expects the Suncor Energy refinery in Edmonton to come online in the coming days, something that could drop prices by as much as three cents per litre.
Gas prices are currently 30 cents per litre in the province higher than they were at this time last year.