Analyst warns British Columbia gas prices could soon hit a record high
VANCOUVER — Drivers in British Columbia should brace for record high gasoline prices this summer and the financial pain has the potential to spread across the country, says a petroleum industry analyst.
Dan McTeague of the online tech company GasBuddy predicts that beginning in April and continuing to September, gasoline prices across much of B.C.’s south coast will hover around $1.60 a litre.
He blames the hike on high demand and chronically short supply, made even worse by Friday’s announcement that the Olympic pipeline that distributes gasoline throughout Washington and Oregon will be taken off-line for four or five days of maintenance.
Prices across Vancouver hit about $1.55 over the weekend, while Victoria remained around $1.40, but McTeague warns southern Vancouver Island could see an eight-cent-a-litre leap as the ripple from short supplies and climbing local taxes spreads.