Gas prices could reach $2.20 per litre in southern Ontario come April: analyst

Gas prices in southern Ontario could reach $2.20 per litre come April, an analyst says.

Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, said if oil prices continue to rise, drivers will face more record prices at the pumps.

“Bottom line is that we’re dealing in … maximum volatility created in no small part by the fact that the world has less oil and there’s a risk that as the United States and other countries in Europe — which have been extraordinarily dependent on Russia — decide to cut off Russia’s exports,” McTeague told Global News.

“In effect, we’re going to be seeing a shortage in oil supplies and that’s really what’s pushing oil prices.”

Gas prices have reached record levels in recent weeks, rising up to $1.849 at stations in the Greater Toronto Area over the weekend.

Last week, McTeague told Global News that drivers would be paying $1.90 per litre in the near future and on Monday, he said that will happen “a lot sooner than I had imagined.”

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“Things are moving much quicker and we’re not even into the summer demand driving season or the switchover from winter to summer gasoline or even a carbon tax (increase), all of which are expected in the next few weeks,” he said.

McTeague said $2 per litre sometime soon is a “safe bet.”

“The longer this goes on and no one has alternative capacity, it’s likely that $2.20 could be a number that we begin to see as we head towards April,” he added.

“Every time I set these goals, these benchmarks, they happen in much sooner timeframe and much closer timeframe than even I can keep up with.”

Oil prices are not currently at record levels like they were in 2008. However, McTeague said a weak Canadian dollar compared to the U.S. dollar, plus additional taxes on gasoline put in place since 2008, are part of the reason prices are as high as they are.

“It’s pretty clear a weak Canadian dollar is one of the main reasons we are paying as much as we are even though oil has not hit anywhere near where it was in July of 2008,” McTeague said.

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