In several Canadian locations, drivers found respite at the petrol pumps after weeks of paying a premium.
As the weekend approached, Vancouver saw one of the largest one-day decreases in petrol prices in Canadian history, with prices in many locations falling by 35 cents to $1. 93 per litre.
According to Paul Pasco, principal consultant at Kalibrate, “we’re seeing that capacity return to the market because of the refineries starting to come back online on the west coast, and it’s allowing prices to start to fall.”
As of Sunday, prices in Toronto dropped to $163.9 a litre, according to Gaswizard.ca, which is less than what many Albertans are spending in Calgary and Edmonton.
While costs are falling for drivers in Toronto and Vancouver, Alberta has remained stagnant at about $1.69 per litre.
“Where you see the price of oil drop — and ultimately it should show up in pumps here sometime next week,” said Jeremy McCrea, energy analyst with Raymond James. “If you can afford to wait a few more days it probably makes sense,” he added.
McCrea said there are several factors as to why prices have not budged in Alberta.
We have a lot of market instability, McCrea said, with refineries closing in some areas, the return of some gas taxes, and a number of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) statements that have caused oil prices to spike significantly in recent weeks.
He claimed that because of the market’s extreme volatility, price fluctuations can be unpredictable.
It will occasionally go up and then down by 20 cents.
A lot of it is what we’re hearing from OPEC — a lot of concerns on recession and this is playing a yoyo with WTI (crude oil) prices,” McCrea said.
A yo-yo impact that is now not swinging in Alberta’s favour.
Despite price drops in other major Canadian cities, Alberta’s gas prices are at a standstill.
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