An already tumbling gasoline price could drop below 80 cents a litre by Christmas, delivering one of the few bright spots in the current economic meltdown that has sent stock prices plunging.
The forecast comes from market analyst Victor Adair. "The reason I say that is because we are seeing continued decline in crude oil and wholesale gasoline prices as we trade the stuff,'' he told CTV, Thursday.
It's a scenario that few would have imagined even a few months ago when the cost to fill up an average tank cost US$35 more than it does now.
In some parts of B.C.'s Lower Mainland, gasoline was selling for as little as 87 cents a litre.
Adair says prices are in a freefall in part because of falling demand.
Drivers know the price of oil is falling and some aren't filling up their tank to the top, because they believe gas will be cheaper down the road.
"When prices were rising, people pull into a gas station, fill her right up to the top, put an extra couple of drops in, because they know the next time they come to get gas it's going to be more," Adair said. That's not the case right now.
Still, in spite of the softening prices, B.C. has some of the most expensive gas in the country.
It costs 76 cents a litre in Toronto and Calgary, a penny more in Montreal, and about 86 cents in Halifax.
South of the border, gas is considerabley less expensive.
In New York, it sells for 68 cents a litre. In Oklahoma City drivers are paying only 59 cents.
Analysts say this is partly because in the United States, for the first time since the Second World War, people are driving less.
One reason prices aren't lower here could be attributed to the loonie.
Market analyst Michael Levy says a weak buck means it's costing Canadians more to buy oil.
And when oil is more expensive to buy, gasoline prices go up.
With a report by CTV British Columbia's St. John Alexander
