With the holiday season coming to an end, Albertans looking to save some money in the New Year might be out of luck when filling their gas tanks. Experts are predicting the price of fuel to jump once again in 2019.
An analyst with GasBuddy.com explains drivers will have to prepare for what could be a volatile year when it comes to the price of oil in 2019.
“It’s more likely than not that you could be back to a $1.30 range here in Alberta perhaps as close as April, May and June,” said Dan McTeague, analyst with GasBuddy.com
Fuel prices in Alberta have dropped around 12 to 15 cents over the last year, which McTeague attributes to several different factors including low oil prices across the globe and a possible U.S.-China trade war.
McTeague said concerns surrounding oil-producing countries not living up to promises on production cuts could have also contributed to the current drop in fuel prices.
According to Gas Buddy, the average price in and around Calgary is just over 90 cents a litre, with lower rates in the capital region where Edmonton drivers can expect to pay around 89 cents.
However, the southwest city of Lethbridge is seeing no such luck, even with recent drops in price, residents can still expect to fork out more than a dollar per litre entering 2019.
McTeague said big box stores such as Costco may also help drive the direction of fuel prices within the city by changing their costs at a moment’s notice.