After an overnight price drop, the cost to fill up your tank in Metro Vancouver is now the cheapest it’s been since April.
Until Saturday morning, the price of a liter of gasoline was 194.9 cents in most gas stations in the region. Some retailers fell as low as 192.9 cents a litre. While that’s still one of the highest prices in the country, Alberta isn’t much cheaper.
The energy-rich province typically has some of the lowest gas prices in Canada, but drivers there are currently paying more than their counterparts in Ontario. The average price per liter in Edmonton and Calgary hovers around the 180 cent mark.
Vijay Muralidharan, managing director of R Cube Economic Consulting, says the high prices are related to fuel blending. Motor gasoline must be mixed with ethanol. Canada imports most of its ethanol from the US by rail, but Canada has been short of the substance since April. The limited supply, Muralidharan says, is driving up the price of ethanol, and fuel retailers are passing the cost on to consumers.
“It creates an anomaly in Western Canada,” he explained. “This problem is in Kamloops, British Columbia Interior and Alberta because they are landlocked. They have to bring it by rail.
Muralidharan says coastal areas of British Columbia are not affected because ethanol can be brought in by barge instead of by train.
Meanwhile, some fuel analysts say Alberta’s higher-than-usual gasoline prices are an example of price gouging. Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, points out that most gas stations across the continent are down by as much as 33 cents a liter, with the exception of Alberta.
“It’s beyond extraordinary,” McTeague said. “It really pushes the boundaries of what many people might consider, and rightfully so, call ‘cool’.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said the province’s finance department will look into the discrepancy, insisting the government has done everything it can to keep gas prices low, including a break on the provincial fuel tax.
In British Columbia, experts predict prices will continue to fall, in part due to lower refinery margins.
“Refinery margins were 55 to 65 cents per liter in June, which is an all-time high,” Muralidharan said. “They went down to 35 cents a litre. Expect more cuts if this continues, and it is expected to.”
He predicts that gas prices in Metro Vancouver will fall steadily in October.
With files from Chelan Skulski of CTV News Edmonton
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