Gas prices in the Greater Toronto Area are likely to approach $2.10 per litre by the Victoria Day long weekend as an “unprecedented” run up in prices continues to cost drivers at the pump, an industry analyst tells CP24.
The average cost of a litre of fuel in the GTA currently stands at $199.9 per litre after going up another four cents over the weekend.
Dan McTeague, who is the president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, tells CP24 that it is possible that drivers will “get a bit of a break” on Wednesday. But he says that gas will still eclipse the $2 per litre mark sometime next week, perhaps going as high as $2.04 or $2.05 per litre.
“We could see prices go well towards $2.10 a litre by the May 24 weekend. Unfortunately not good news and not good for drivers,” he said.
Gas prices reached a low of $1.32 per litre in December but are now up more than 50 per cent since the beginning of 2022.
McTeaggue said that the ongoing ramifications from Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine have effectively “made a bad situation worse.”
The increased demand for gasoline during the busy summer driving season is also pushing prices higher, McTeague said.
“What always me concerned me was that gasoline tends to uncouple (from oil) and surge in price as we get close to the summer driving season and that is exactly what is happening now,” he said. “The price of gasoline itself has now become completely detached from oil.”
