Gasoline prices lower across Canada, down most in Ontario

Photo: The Canadian Press

Gasoline prices have dropped about 12 cents a litre overnight in Ontario and are down across much of Canada after a big dip in the price of oil this week.

GasBuddy is reporting prices are down to about $1.79 in major cities in Ontario from $1.91 on Wednesday, while cities like Vancouver and Montreal saw prices drop around six cents overnight.

Rory Johnston, founder of Commodity Context, says the lower prices at the pump come after crude dropped by about US$10 a barrel to fall below US$100 a barrel on Tuesday.

He says consumers are also seeing lower prices because refining margins, which have shot up on limited processing capacity and high gasoline demand, have dropped about 25 per cent in recent days.

In the B.C. Interior, Salmon Arm stations are serving the cheapest fuel, at 201.9 cents a litre, according to gasbuddy.

That's followed by 205.9 cents a litre in Vernon, while prices range from 208.9 to 214.9 in Kelowna.

Penticton stations are pumping regular gas for 214.9 cents a litre, while in Kamloops it's 215.9.

The drop might be temporary as some of the declines were likely from investors unwinding speculative positions, says Johnston, while the fundamental problem of supply shortages remains an issue.

He says he expects continued volatility in prices as investors weigh recession fears against high current demand.