Gas prices plummet in B.C.'s Lower Mainland
Gas prices are once again on the move in B.C.’s Lower Mainland but this time in the other direction.
The sticker price at many pumps sit at 203.9 cents per litre which is a 10 cent drop from last week with prices potentially falling an additional three or four cents this week.
President of Canadians for Affordable Energy and gas analyst, Dan Mcteague, told CTV News on Monday morning that the relief is being felt across North America with oil prices dropping from $86 per barrel to around $81.
He says this was a response to a risk premium that was put on oil as a result of escalating tension in the Middle East last week. Although, this week, McTeague believes markets feel more comfortable with oil prices being lower while local factors are also driving down the price.
“In the Pacific Northwest, the four refineries we have, seem to be doing well including our own in our own backyard here at Parkland,” said McTeague. “Everyone seems to be back up and running.”
He went on to say that the utilization rate has increased during a time of the year when refineries are finishing their spring maintenance while switching to summer fuel blends.
Gas prices in the Vancouver area are some of the highest in Canada and McTeague believes that won’t change. The instability of the market will continue over the coming month as the kickoff to the summer driving season begins in the United States.
“Anything can happen over the next four weeks and we could see a resumption of prices should something unforeseen or unforetold take place,” said McTeague.
Correction
An earlier version of this story said Vancouver is home to the highest gas prices in the country. However, prices in Powell River and, at times, parts of northern Vancouver Island can be higher than in the Lower Mainland.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Latest updates on the major wildfires burning in Canada
The 2024 wildfire season has begun, and it's shaping up to follow last year's unprecedented destruction in kind, with thousands of square kilometres already consumed.
Veteran TSN sportscaster Darren Dutchyshen has died
Veteran TSN broadcaster Darren 'Dutch' Dutchyshen, one of Canada’s best-known sports journalists, has died. He was 57. His family says 'he passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones.'
Toronto man killed his mother and decapitated her — but it wasn't murder, lawyers argue
A ‘lifetime of abuse’ led Dallas Ly to snap and repeatedly stab his mother inside their Leslieville apartment in 2022 but he never intended to kill her, his defence lawyers argued during at his murder trial in Toronto on Thursday.
He had dreams of running for Canada in the Olympics, then he learned his family would be deported
A burgeoning track star says his dream of going to the Olympics is being derailed by a deportation order after Immigration officials rejected his family’s claim for asylum
Father charged with second-degree murder in daughter's stabbing death southwest of Montreal
A father has been charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of his 34-year-old daughter in southern Quebec.
Teen died from eating a spicy chip as part of social media challenge, autopsy report concludes
A medical examiner says a Massachusetts teen who participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge died from ingesting a substance 'with a high capsaicin concentration.'
Kidnapped by her father and kept in a crawl space: Court documents reveal Montreal horror story
A Montreal father who kidnapped his daughter who has autism and lied to police when they asked where she was should serve three years in prison, a Crown prosecutor said.
Ontario calls on Toronto to drop 'disastrous' drug decriminalization request
The province’s health minister and solicitor general are urging Toronto to rescind its request to decriminalize simple possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use, calling the proposal 'misguided' and 'disastrous.'
Trudeau calls New Brunswick's Conservative government a 'disgrace' on women's rights
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has "issues" with the Progressive Conservative government of New Brunswick.