The average price of a litre of gas in the Greater Toronto Area will reach a new high, and at least one industry analyst predicts that “it’s going to get a lot more painful for drivers” in the coming weeks on Friday.
Most GTA gas stations are currently charging 190.9 per cent per litre, which is the same as the previous all-time high set on March 10.
In an interview with CP24, Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, said he expects prices to climb by around a nickel on Friday, to 194.9 or 195.9 cents per litre.
“This is going to get a lot more painful and it is going to be a lot more long-lasting. There really isn’t anything in sight that would cause these prices to drop,” he said. “It is a very serious situation, it is going to continue to add inflationary pressures on everything and I think it is high time we started to take this issue seriously; not just inflation but energy affordability in particular.”
McTeague said that a decision by the European Union to ban the purchase of Russian oil by the end of the year is likely to push costs higher, as will the eventual lifting of COVID-19 lockdowns in China which have supressed demand.
He said that an ongoing diesel shortage in the U.S. northeast is also perhaps “the most worrisome” thing right now, as it could some refineries “to think twice about producing gasoline” so that they can concentrate on diesel production.
“It creates a scenario for an escalating spiralling price in energy which unfortunately our politicians in Ottawa seem to be completely oblivious to,” he said.
Gas prices have risen by about 50 per cent since last May, when drivers were paying around $1.30 per litre to fill up.
Source_ cp24.com
