London, Ont. drivers looking to skirt an anticipated bump at the pumps this weekend should fill up now or wait until the end of the weekend, one gas analyst says.
The website GasWizard, operated by Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, predicts prices for regular, unleaded fuel at most Ontario stations will rise four cents per litre on Saturday to an average of 179.9 cents per litre in London and 180.9 in most other locations.
Premium is also expected to rise four cents to an average of 209.9 in London, while diesel is set to rise 14 cents per litre to 233.9 in the Forest City.
Motorists unable to fill up on Friday will be able to get in some savings if they wait until Sunday, when prices are expected to dip two to three cents, according to McTeague.
“I think it’s quite possible we will see $2 a litre between now and the end of the year. Part of that is not just where markets are going, (where) we see a $10 increase in the price of oil, which is quite likely,” he told Global News Toronto on Friday.
“Warmer weather giving way to cold winter weather, there’ll be more demand for heating products. Refineries produce diesel, home heating fuel, stove oil, furnace oil, and they also produce gasoline, so if they’re emphasizing one, sometimes versus the other, it means that the price of everything goes up.”
The Saturday bump will be at least the fourth in as many days, according to GasWizard. As of Saturday, gas prices in London and in other Ontario cities will have risen about 20 cents since Tuesday, when the local average for regular, unleaded was 159.9 cents per litre.
Premium will have also risen 20 cents in that time, while diesel will have risen about 22 cents. Diesel prices, however, have fluctuated through the month, and are still below where they stood last week.