Vancouver, BC (WNews Vancouver) – Gas prices reached a record high over the weekend as prices reached 176.9 a litre in some parts of the Lower Mainland. That beat a record high of 173.9 cents a litre set in July 2021. Prices are expected to reach $1.85 a litre within a few weeks or months.
On Sunday, there were some gas stations offering around 169.9 cents per litre in Metro Vancouver — such as the Husky in Surrey at 18398 Fraser Highway — but prices were as high as 171.9 cents per litre at the Husky Gas Station at Willowbrook Drive and 200th Street in Langley, according to GasBuddy.com.
The issues have been refineries have been struggling in the recent cold weather in the last couple of week.
The weather started to changed on December 22 as cold and snow started to hit the Lower Mainland.
Calgary-based Parkland Corp.’s Burnaby refinery, which supplies about a third of the gas to the Lower Mainland and the Island, issued a notice about “unseasonably cold temperatures” hurting its operations a few days after that date.
Rising world oil prices have also hit Metro Vancouver gas pump prices, but he estimates that impact to be only about five cents a litre.
The previous Metro Vancouver fuel price record was set last July when gas prices hit 173.9 cents a litre.
Metro Vancouver gas prices in late December were about $1.56 a litre. This weekend they briefly went over $1.76 per litre for an increase that is about 20 cents.
The general outlook according to some analysts, combined with high fuel taxes and a weaker Canadian dollar, means that, at the pump, Metro Vancouver drivers will be paying $1.85 a litre within a few weeks or months.
Some experts are projecting that gas prices will reach over $2.00 a litre in some parts of Canada sometime in 2022. This comes as the price of US crude oil is expected to cross the US$100 a barrel mark sometime in 2022.
The rising gas prices will see the price of goods and products rise as the cost of transportation increases.
Cover Image: The price of regular fuel at a local gas station in Langley, BC on January 8, 2022 | By Eric Boland/WNews File Photo