B.C.’s long weekend gas prices expected to stay stable

The upcoming May long weekend is usually the kick-off to the summer driving season, but we may not see a real jump in the price at the pump.

Analyst Patrick De Haan with GasBuddy.com says he does not expect a major shift in the price of regular this week in Metro Vancouver.

“I think prices will probably be within five or 10 cents per litre from where we stand today — anywhere between $1.75 and $1.85. We could go up a little bit,” he told CityNews.

Related Article: Metro Vancouver gas prices: What to expect this summer

De Haan says the biggest factors currently affecting the price of crude oil include the U.S. Congress’ debt ceiling negotiations, which could have broader implications globally.

“Also, we are talking about banking situations in the U.S. which has really had a major impact on prices globally — the U.S. being the largest oil consumer. What happens in the U.S. certainly has a big impact on countries like Canada.”

De Haan figures the price of gasoline should remain relatively stable through the bulk of the summer driving season.

“I really don’t see the possibility of two dollars per litre being a guarantee — I think it’s far from a guarantee.

“I think we would only see that under certain economic conditions like abrupt changes from a refinery going down or a major hurricane. I think we are setting up for a summer where gas prices are quite a bit lower than last year,” he explained.

Although, De Haan says they are still quite a bit above what most Canadians would consider normal for this time of year.

According to GasBuddy, the average retail price of a litre of regular gas has risen 2.2 cents in the last week, now averaging 181.37 cents per litre Sunday. This compares to the national average of 153.90 cents per litre of regular gasoline.

“With oil prices bouncing back over $70 per barrel after reaching as low as $66 in early May, we’ve seen gasoline prices move higher in some provinces, while others have continued to decline — the national average has seen little change as a result, but overall, gasoline prices continue to see significant relief from year-ago levels,” De Haan said.

“We’re likely to soon see gasoline prices slip to their largest year-on-year deficit since COVID[-19] hit, when prices fell 30c/L compared to 2019, so the relief at the pump has been significant”

-With files from Hana Mae Nassar and Charlie Carey