Metro Vancouver gas prices have again broken the $2 a litre threshold, and the pain at the pump likely isn’t over.
Gas prices as high as $2.05 per litre were observed in many parts of the region on Monday, which petroleum industry analyst Dan McTeague said was due to rising crude oil prices.
“Oil prices have jumped over $10 a barrel in the last fortnight, so we’re looking at a scenario that’s finally playing out,” McTeague said.
As of Monday, WTI oil was trading at US$81.86 per barrel, the highest it’s been since mid-April.
McTeague said there had also been heat-related problems at some major U.S. refineries that have contributed to driving the price up.
He estimated oil prices could still climb another $5 to $6 per barrel, translating to a hike of between six and 10 cents per litre at the pump.
“The high end could see another 10 cents added, maximum. We’re not going to go back to where we were on Oct. 7, when we hit the all-time record of $2.41.9 here in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver — but we’re not going to see what we saw mid-February, $1.58, either,” he said.
“I think the low end would be $1.92, high end would be a little closer to $2.16, $2.17. So that means we may not have seen the peak yet.”
However, McTeague said a strong Canadian dollar and the peak of summer gasoline demand passing should both help to ease pressure in the weeks to come.
“So downward pressure unless something dramatic should happen, refineries shutting down south of the border in the United States or some other unforeseen disruption,” he said.