Filling the tank just got a little easier on the wallet this weekend. Gasoline prices are falling, but according to one expert, the reprieve won’t last long.
Gasoline prices in Montreal hovered around $ 1.53 / L on Friday. By Sunday afternoon, the average price fell to $ 1.44 / L.
The sudden decline is the fastest drop in gasoline prices in nearly 13 years.
“It’s really a response to the fact that oil prices fell more than $ 10 a barrel on Friday,” says Dan McTeague, president of Canadian for Affordable Energy.
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He says stock market fears about the Omicron Covid-19 variant are to blame for the sudden drop, but suspects the lower prices won’t last long.
“As serious as [the variant] it may be, the reality is very different. The world is insufficiently supplied with oil and therefore any drop like this could have the unintended effect of driving prices up even higher, ”he says.
McTeague says drivers are on a roller coaster ride and pump prices are likely to start rising again mid-week. By the end of the year, he predicts, the price will return to the $ 1.55 / L range.
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“Most likely it will get even more expensive,” warns McTeague.
“A combination of rising oil prices, the status of the Canadian dollar, provincial taxes and the federal government’s clean fuel standard, which goes into effect next year, Quebecers could be paying close to $ 2.00 / L”
Oil prices are expected to hit $ 3-4 a barrel on Monday or Tuesday, meaning gasoline prices will rise another four to five cents a liter on Wednesday or Thursday.
Reference-globalnews.ca