Gas prices expected to drop on Vancouver Island

A gas station in Saanich's Hillside area is pictured on Nov. 18, 2022. (CTV News)

Gas prices are expected to drop to their lowest levels in months on Vancouver Island.

Gas prices on Thursday were sitting around $1.889 per litre of regular fuel, and by Saturday those prices could widely drop another 10 cents to $1.789 per litre.

On Friday afternoon, many gas stations in Greater Victoria were listing regular fuel prices at $1.839, down five cents from the day before, while some were going as low as $1.789.

Gas analysts tell CTV News that the predicted drop in prices is due to a West Coast gas refining complex normalizing its supply.

The estimated price drop should last for about two weeks, analysts say.

"The next big question in the upcoming market is, what's going to come after Dec. 6?" said Paul Pasco with Kalibrate Principle Consultant.

"We need to see the impact on crude markets and what's going to happen with the Russian sanctions," he said.

"Right now the market looks like it should be able to absorb that, and with some luck we'll be able to maintain these prices going [into] the Christmas timeframe," he said.

Heading into the holiday season, gas prices could jump back up by five to 10 cents due to demand, according to Pasco.

However, experts say they don't expect prices to reach the $2 mark again any time soon. 

Gas prices in Greater Victoria reached a record high on Sept. 29, when the price of regular fuel reached $2.399 per litre.