Greater Victoria gas prices expected to hit record high
The price of gasoline on Vancouver Island is expected to jump again this week, with potentially record-setting fuel costs projected before the weekend.
The average price for a litre of regular gasoline in the Greater Victoria region hit 216.3 cents on Wednesday, according to price-tracking website GasBuddy.com.
Similar prices were measured across the island, with average prices hitting 208.9 cents in Nanaimo, 210.8 cents in the Cowichan Valley, and 213.5 cents in Campbell River, B.C.
But according to gas price-prediction website GasWizard.ca, average fuel prices could reach a record-setting 239.9 cents per litre on Thursday.
Greater Victoria's current record price was set on June 6, when prices at the pump topped out at 234.9 cents a litre. Two months earlier, B.C. Premier John Horgan announced a one-time rebate for drivers coping with climbing fuel prices.
Analysts say the high prices are due to tight supply as a major pipeline and a refinery on the West Coast undergoes maintenance.
"We're entering obviously very new territory, which most have really not expected, given that we've seen oil climb down from its heights back in June of $115 to $120 a barrel," said Dan McTeague, an analyst from Gas Wizard.
Premium fuel in the Victoria area is expected to jump as high as 258.9 on Thursday while diesel is projected to reach 201.9 cents per litre.
"The weakness in the Canadian dollar isn't helping consumers. We've lost about four cents a litre in purchasing power," added McTeague.
Earlier this month, the province announced new temporary increases to a pair of provincial tax credits in an effort to ease the pain of "unprecedented inflation," the premier said.
Horgan cited the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine as contributors to the high cost of living in the province.
"With rising costs spurred by global inflation, I understand that families’ ability to budget is made more challenging when they see price fluctuations at the pump," B.C. Energy Minister Bruce Ralston said in a statement to CTV News.
The provincial government continues to monitor the ongoing maintenance issues at refineries and resulting price hikes, he added.
"That’s why we have given the [B.C. Utilities Commission] power to look into secrecy in pricing and why we are also helping people deal with higher costs right now," Ralston said.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Regan Hasegawa
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