CALGARY — Canadians may soon be filling up their gas tanks at an average of around $1.40 per litre, a price they haven't seen since the heady summer of 2008, the co-founder of GasBuddy.com said Monday.
"We're going to see gas prices jump around a little bit. But generally speaking, for the next month or so, we're going to see gas prices more or less going up," said Jason Toews, co-founder of the price-tracking website.
"We could see gas prices reaching close to $1.40 per litre by the Victoria Day long weekend."
GasBuddy pegs the current Canadian average price at around $1.28 per litre, its highest level since before the financial crisis hit in the fall of 2008.
As motorists begin to take to the road at the start of the so-called summer driving season at the end of May, demand will pick up and drive up the price, Toews said.
He added about 70 per cent of the cost of a litre of gasoline comes from the cost of its main ingredient, crude oil.
Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude closed down 2.3 per cent at US$107.12 a barrel Monday after Standard & Poor's lowered its long-term outlook for U.S. debt.
"That's not exactly a good news story," said John Stephenson, portfolio manager with First Asset Investment Management. "So all of that has made people suspicious about how strong the growth is going to be economically and what that might mean for energy consumption."
Long term, though, the trend is for higher crude prices, he said. Global fuel demand has been surprisingly strong in emerging economies, and supply worries continue to linger in major oil-producing countries.
"Is US$150 by the end of the year reasonable? Maybe it's a stretch. But we're going to be higher than we are now by the end of the year I think," Stephenson said.
"I think certainly this year $125 would be pretty reasonable, $130 maybe."
The high fuel prices already seem to be eroding demand in the United States, which has the potential for negative economic ripple effects.
"People are just refusing to drive as much and, of course, that impacts shopping centres, it impacts retailers, it impacts car makers in an environment where people are saying 'you know what? this is just costing too much to fill up,"' Stephenson said.
Frustrated motorists may wonder why they get stuck with eye-popping fuel prices when the factors driving up crude oil are taking place half a world away.
"A lot of people say 'We have so much crude oil here in Canada. Why don't we have cheap gas? Why don't we just sell it to ourselves?"' Toews said.
"These companies who produce the crude oil are looking to maximize their profits. It's not a charity case. They're not here for the good of Canadians, per se."
Alberta has been enjoying the cheapest gas in Canada, with the province's average just under $1.17 per litre. British Columbia and Ontario, on the other hand, are both hovering just below $1.32 per litre. In Newfoundland, drivers were filling up at $1.37 per litre.
It's worthwhile to shop around for the cheapest gas in your city, Toews said. For instance, the lowest price reported in Vancouver Monday morning was $1.27 and the highest was nearly $1.39.
http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110418/110418_gas/20110418/?hub=CP24Home
"We're going to see gas prices jump around a little bit. But generally speaking, for the next month or so, we're going to see gas prices more or less going up," said Jason Toews, co-founder of the price-tracking website.
"We could see gas prices reaching close to $1.40 per litre by the Victoria Day long weekend."
GasBuddy pegs the current Canadian average price at around $1.28 per litre, its highest level since before the financial crisis hit in the fall of 2008.
As motorists begin to take to the road at the start of the so-called summer driving season at the end of May, demand will pick up and drive up the price, Toews said.
He added about 70 per cent of the cost of a litre of gasoline comes from the cost of its main ingredient, crude oil.
Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude closed down 2.3 per cent at US$107.12 a barrel Monday after Standard & Poor's lowered its long-term outlook for U.S. debt.
"That's not exactly a good news story," said John Stephenson, portfolio manager with First Asset Investment Management. "So all of that has made people suspicious about how strong the growth is going to be economically and what that might mean for energy consumption."
Long term, though, the trend is for higher crude prices, he said. Global fuel demand has been surprisingly strong in emerging economies, and supply worries continue to linger in major oil-producing countries.
"Is US$150 by the end of the year reasonable? Maybe it's a stretch. But we're going to be higher than we are now by the end of the year I think," Stephenson said.
"I think certainly this year $125 would be pretty reasonable, $130 maybe."
The high fuel prices already seem to be eroding demand in the United States, which has the potential for negative economic ripple effects.
"People are just refusing to drive as much and, of course, that impacts shopping centres, it impacts retailers, it impacts car makers in an environment where people are saying 'you know what? this is just costing too much to fill up,"' Stephenson said.
Frustrated motorists may wonder why they get stuck with eye-popping fuel prices when the factors driving up crude oil are taking place half a world away.
"A lot of people say 'We have so much crude oil here in Canada. Why don't we have cheap gas? Why don't we just sell it to ourselves?"' Toews said.
"These companies who produce the crude oil are looking to maximize their profits. It's not a charity case. They're not here for the good of Canadians, per se."
Alberta has been enjoying the cheapest gas in Canada, with the province's average just under $1.17 per litre. British Columbia and Ontario, on the other hand, are both hovering just below $1.32 per litre. In Newfoundland, drivers were filling up at $1.37 per litre.
It's worthwhile to shop around for the cheapest gas in your city, Toews said. For instance, the lowest price reported in Vancouver Monday morning was $1.27 and the highest was nearly $1.39.
http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110418/110418_gas/20110418/?hub=CP24Home
