VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – You’ve likely noticed it — gas prices have once again shot up around Metro Vancouver. They’ve increased to $1.43 a litre for regular at some stations.
Senior Gas Analyst with GasBuddy.com Dan McTeague says you can expect more of this for the rest of the year. “I would have thought that by now prices would have tapered off… it’s the first time in almost eight years we’re actually seeing prices move higher in the fall, into almost the winter period, than we saw during the summer.”
Lower Mainland gas stations rely heavily on US refineries for their supplies — which, in a way, you are paying a premium for.
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“Several refineries are running much leaner and US demand continues to rocket as it has now for three years in a row — it doesn’t bode well for prices coming down anytime soon.”
McTeague says drivers across the Lower Mainland are paying about $0.19 a litre over and above what Americans are paying, even when you take into account the difference in the two countries. “We produce gasoline in Richmond, about 45,000 barrels of fuel is produced, but that’s just not enough for a growing region here in the Lower Mainland.”
Don’t forget that on top of the US premiums you’re paying, drivers on the Lower Mainland also have some of the highest gas taxes in the country.