Filling up the tank got a little easier on the wallet this weekend. Gas prices are dropping, but according to one expert the reprieve won’t last long.
Gas prices in Montreal hovered around $1.53/L on Friday. By Sunday afternoon the average price fell to $1.44/L.
The sudden decrease is the fastest drop in gasoline prices in nearly 13 years.
“It’s really a response to the fact that oil prices dropped over $10 a barrel on Friday,” says Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy.
He says stock market fears over the Covid-19 Omicron Variant are to blame for the sudden drop, but he suspects the lower prices won’t last long.
McTeague says drivers are in for a roller-coaster ride with pump prices likely to start rising again by mid-week. By end of year, he predicts, the price will be back to the $1.55/L range.
“It will most likely get even more expensive,” warns McTeague.
“A combination of rising oil prices, the state of the Canadian dollar, provincial taxes and the federal government’s clean fuel standard, which comes into effect next year, Quebecers could be paying close to $2.00/L”
Oil prices are expected to hit $3 or $4 a barrel by Monday or Tuesday, which means gas prices will climb another four or five cents a litre by Wednesday or Thursday.