Drivers in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) are in for more pain at the pumps on the weekend, as the price of gas continues to rise due to the Iran conflict and its impact on oil shipments.
En-Pro tells CityNews that prices are expected to rise six cents on Saturday, to an average price of 152.9 cents/litre at local stations.
Gas prices have risen 14 cents since Saturday, and this latest rise would bring them up to 20 cents in a week — a 15 per cent increase.
Roger McKnight, the Chief Petroleum Analyst with En-Pro International Inc., tells CityNews the price at the pumps could climb as high as $1.70 a litre, which will have a spillover effect on other costs.
“High gas prices affect all sorts of things; it affects the price of the food on your table because food gets to your table by diesel transportation and diesel prices are going up even higher than gasoline,” he explains.
“I think the consumer right now is very sensitive about costs, especially food, and that’s going to keep on going up as long as the price of crude goes up.”
McKnight adds that across Canada, the west coast and Vancouver will be hit the hardest by the increases.
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Gas prices in the U.S. also rose another seven cents, to an average of $3.32 per gallon, AAA said Friday. That amounts to an 11.4 per cent rise in pump prices over the past week.
Oil prices surged again on Friday, with the price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, leaping another 8.5% to settle at $92.69. It briefly rose above $94 to touch its highest level since September 2023.
A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude breached the $90 level for the first time since 2023 and jumped 12.2% to $90.90.
Oil prices have surged, with Brent up from near $70 late last week, as the war has expanded and included areas critical to the production and movement of oil and gas in the Middle East. Much will depend on what happens with the Strait of Hormuz off Iran’s coast, where roughly a fifth of the world’s oil typically sails.