Drivers in the Sydney area woke up to gas prices that would have seemed outrageous weeks ago, but on Saturday they may have felt like a bargain.
The price of gas dropped nearly 10 cents overnight, after Nova Scotia’s Utility and Review Board invoked the interrupter clause.
“This little bit of relief could be short-lived,” said Tom Urbaniak, a political science professor at Cape Breton University.
Urbaniak says price swings can be expected over the next while as markets for oil and gasoline, and the world events driving them, are unstable.
“There is that psychological barrier of $2.00 per liter, and that has been crossed in some parts of Canada. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see that crossed more generally,” Urbaniak said.
At the Cape Breton Farmer’s Market, traffic was more robust compared to recent weeks however, they say they also felt the effect of inflation at the pumps.
“Yesterday one of our employees, one of our students, who actually lives in Glace Bay had to put in his notice,” said Farmers Market manager Pauline Singer, “because he just couldn’t afford the gas prices anymore to come in and out to work.”
Ski Ben Eoin closed early on Saturday due to the weather, but management says it seems fuel prices haven’t thinned out its crowds.
They say the impact is on their grooming equipment, which runs on diesel. The price of diesel in Nova Scotia dropped 17.6 cents overnight Friday.
“We average to be around 200 liters per night to groom the actual mountain,” said Darcy MacDonald, business operations manager at Ski Ben Eoin, “so if any break happens, obviously it’s a savings for us. It’s still considerably higher than what we would have paid initially for it.”
In Halifax, a liter of regular self-serve sold for just over $1,720 on Saturday.