Pain at the pumps: Gas prices hit 163.9 cents/litre in parts of Metro Vancouver
Drivers of gas-powered vehicles were stuck paying nearly $1.64 a litre in parts of Metro Vancouver on Monday, and analysts expect to see more pain at the pumps over the summer.
Prices reached 163.9 cents at some gas stations before noon, including in Vancouver and Surrey, continuing an upward trend that's been happening since fall.
Vijay Muralidharan, a Calgary-based petroleum industry consultant with Kalibrate, said the biggest factor remains the surge in crude oil prices that began in 2020.
"Since that started a year ago, the prices have increased quite astronomically," he said, noting the price of crude jumped by 30 per cent in the first half of 2021.
Kalibrate's research has found that every $1 jump in crude oil prices correlates to a half-cent increase at the pumps in Canada, Muralidharan said.
There are other factors at play, according to the analyst, including an increase in refinery margins and the growing demand for fuel that normally comes during the summer. With many COVID-19 restrictions lifting, people are getting back into their cars for road trips and other vacations.
"The demand is picking up, activity is returning to some sort of normalcy," Muralidharan said.
Prices should begin to come back down after OPEC+ producers, who have voluntarily curbed supply during the pandemic, begin releasing more barrels into the market, Muralidharan added.
"We won't see that happening until August or September," he said.
Gas prices in Metro Vancouver still have a ways to go before breaking any records. Back in April 2019, they reached as high as 172.9 cents a litre at several stations in the region.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
Explosion at train station leads to discovery of stolen car on Montreal's South Shore: police
Police are investigating after a BMW exploded in the St-Lambert Exo train station parking lot on Montreal's South Shore.
The pros and cons of discussing mental health issues in the workplace
A group of lawyers has written what they call a groundbreaking book about how mental health is perceived in the legal profession.