London, Ont., sees low gas prices on Wednesday

A good week for drivers in London, Ont., continued on Wednesday following an overnight drop that saw gas prices fall by about 10 cents.

By around noon on Wednesday, GasBuddy reported fuel was selling for an average price of 96.7 cents per litre. The lowest price at noon was reported at the west London Costco, with gas selling at 85.9 cents per litre.

The low prices were a welcome change for Marcia Oliver who filled up at 92.9 cents per litre on her to work Wednesday morning.

“It’s a really nice surprise given all the news lately,” Oliver said. “It’s kind of nice to have some good news.”

Similar relief was felt from Stewart Kribs.

“Certainly hope it lasts, it does make driving cheaper,” Kribs said, adding he has concerns for the consequences of the savings.

“To have gas prices that low is probably bad for the economy because we’re so reliant on reasonable oil prices”

Neil Duggal said he was surprised to see Wednesday morning’s prices, but planned to take advantage by filling up his tank. However, he said the low price won’t have him planning a weekend road trip anytime soon.

“With the coronavirus, I think the most important thing is to be careful and conservative,” Duggal said.

Meanwhile, Eileen Zheng said it was nice to be able to fill up for cheap after running low on fuel prior to Wednesday. As for the future of gas prices, her message was simple: “Please be cheaper.”

Wednesday’s low prices followed a historic plunge on Monday that saw the price of oil fall 25 per cent, the sharpest decline seen since the 1991 Gulf War.

The decline has been credited to a drop in the demand for oil due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. Another factor is the collapse of an oil supply cut agreement between Saudi Arabia and Russia.

4:54 Political scientist Greg Poelzer on the drop in oil prices and Monday’s market crash