Vancouver gas prices smashed record highs on Friday (Jan. 7) following a steady rise in prices this week.
Petroleum analysts predicted the prices would pass the all-time high and caution that they may climb even higher in the coming months.
Gas prices set a new record in the city on July 1, 2021, reaching 173.9 cents per litre. While prices fell steadily after that, they've started climbing up again this week.
Dan McTeague, the President of Canadians for Affordable Energy (and formerly of GasBuddy.com), predicted they would reach $1.77 per litre Friday. While they were just shy of his forecast, they still set a record high for the region, with many stations climbing over 1.769 per litre.
While many stations are showing gas prices for over 170 cents per litre on Friday, there are a few that are still hovering above 161 cents per litre. In fact, if you are near Aldergrove, gas is selling for 161.9 cents per litre at a Canco station; Husky gas station in Surrey is also offering the same low deal.
Prices start to climb after that low-price pair, with a handful of stations in Metro Vancouver offering gas for 167.9 cents per litre. There's also a couple offering gas for 168.9 cents per litre and one for 169.6.
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McTeague also predicted Thursday that 2022 fuel prices will rise an additional 20 per cent between February and May, which will also "hit food prices."
Gasoline prices rose by roughly $0.14 per litre in the Lower Mainland between Dec. 22, 2021 and Jan. 1, 2022, when they hit $1.69 per litre. Metro Vancouver has seen those kinds of price spikes before, but they typically happen in the summertime, when demand for gasoline is higher, not in the wintertime.
In mid-November, gasoline supplies were interrupted when flooding that took out roads and bridges resulted in the Trans Mountain pipeline — which supplies roughly a third of the gasoline and diesel to southwestern B.C. — being shut down as a precaution. That led to the Parkland refinery shutting down as well.
The Trans Mountain pipeline resumed operation on Dec. 5, and the Parkland refinery began ramping back up on Dec. 11.
With files from Nelson Bennett / Business In Vancouver
