Three-cent hike will move N.S. gas prices close to record high
Posted Mar 29, 2012 05:13:05 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Nova Scotia drivers should gas up today, or face high gasoline prices tomorrow.
News 95.7 is predicting regulated prices will increase about three cents a litre tonight, moving closer to the post-regulation record of $1.446.
New Brunswick’s regulated prices rose by 2.7 cents overnight to a new maximum of $1.395. Diesel prices fell by 1.3 cents to $1.382.
In Toronto, unregulated gas prices went up nearly three cents overnight. The average price of regular self-serve in the GTA is now $1.368.
Roger McKnight, senior petroleum adviser at En-Pro International says the increases are surprising because of recent declines wholesale gasoline and crude oil futures have been dropping.
“A 2.8 cent a litre increase is unexplainable to me,” Roger McKnight told Rogers Radio about the increase in Toronto. “There’s no reason for it whatsoever, if you do the mathematics and you look at the futures gasoline price at New York Harbour.
McKnight says it’s possible that refinery problems in the U.S. are beginning to affect prices, noting four refineries in the Philadelphia area are closing because they can’t afford the price of crude oil.
McKnight said last month that he expected prices to reach new records this summer, and says so far it looks like he’s right.
“Nine of the last ten years gasoline prices started increasing in March and April,” said McKnight. “But they started increasing in January this year, and there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight.”
But another gas price pundit says demand is at a historic low, which should offset any problem with supply. George Murphy with Consumers for Fair Gas Prices tells News 95.7 demand for gasoline has fallen by 6.1 per cent compared to the same time last year.
“I think (that’s) probably some of the highest numbers for a drop in demand that I’ve seen in the last 15 years of monitoring prices,” said Murphy. “There’s messaging there for big oil.”
At this time last year, drivers in metro were paying $1.291 for gas and $1.321 for diesel.
