Gas prices in the Battlefords and other areas remains close to $1.4 per litre. (File photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By battlefordsNOW Staff

Fuel demand

Gas prices remain high in the Battlefords, Meadow Lake

Jan 19, 2022 | 5:00 AM

Driving continues to serve as a much larger expense than in recent years for the Battlefords and surrounding area.

Gas prices remain above $1.36 a litre in most stations in surrounding municipalities, a pattern that’s been there for weeks. Nearly every station in North Battleford and Battleford sits at 136.9¢, a fraction more than the provincial average.

Darryl Crowe, general manager at Red Pheasant Centex in North Battleford, said this current price hasn’t dipped far from the $1.39 a litre they reached within the last few months, or the $1.44 seen in other cities.

“It’s always been pretty steady, as far as prices go,” he said. “There’s been a few times it’s dropped, but that’s it.”

While this doesn’t meet the record highs that some cities had in 2021, it still represents a level of concern. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at gasbuddy.com, had originally predicted this trend would continue back in October and believes it’s unlikely to change soon with the price of oil rising drastically. However, motorists in some municipalities will see their prices rise much faster than other communities.

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“Different areas that are dozens of kilometres away will raise their prices at different times and those differences can be pretty substantial,” De Haan said. “It’s not rare to find [disparities] of five to 15¢ a litre when prices are starting to go up, especially when it’s this sharply.”

Oil sold at 62 dollars a barrel in late November for West Texas Intermediate Crude. Now, De Haan noted it’s selling at around 85 dollars a barrel, with any concerns about demand dropping due to the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 having faded.

“That $23 climb in oil over six weeks has pushed gas prices up in Canada significantly,” he said.

De Haan mentioned other pressures on drivers’ stop at the pumps, including unrest in oil producing countries like Kazakhstan, Libya and Russia. One of the reasons that you might see increases in areas like the Battlefords, (15¢ higher than Saskatoon for roughly a week) or in Meadow Lake (currently sitting at 139.9¢) is geographical distance from other centres and a lack of competition.

“For anyone that’s traveling, there’s generally a price differential,” De Haan stated. “Some stations may have a lower cost, some stations may raise prices faster. There’s a lot of factors.”

In order to save where possible, he recommended checking for prices online, including neighbouring communities when traveling, rather than sticking to days like Tuesday, which typically see a minute decrease. This will especially help in areas where most gas stations stick to the same price.

“Instead of filling up on a day, my advice is to shop around before filling up,” he said.

A list of gas stations and price comparisons in regions like the Battlefords is available here.

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cjnbnews@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW