Gas prices are on the rise throughout the province.
Patrick DeHaan is a petroleum analyst with Gasbuddy.com. He said several factors go into the increase as the summer draws closer and closer.
“We’ve started the transition over to cleaner, more expensive summer gasoline,” DeHann explained. “Demand for gasoline is going up here as temperatures eventually warm us, and spring break travel happens.”
The change in the weather isn’t the only factor in the price of gasoline, though. With some refineries shut down for maintenance, it is pushing the price upwards throughout Saskatchewan, with the average price per litre in the province currently at 152.1. This is up by 14.3 cents from February.
Prices are also expected to increase further next Monday when the latest increase in the carbon tax takes effect. It will be increasing from $65 per metric ton to $80 per metric ton. This works out to roughly 3.5 cents per litre of gasoline.
While there are increases now, there is a possibility we could see some relief at the pumps sooner rather than later.
“We could continue to see modest increases, but I think that towards the end of that, as we get to mid- to late-April, we should be close to a plateau,” DeHaan added. The plateau traditionally happens in April or May, with prices starting a slight decrease just ahead of the May long weekend.
The prices aren’t also expected to reach some of the levels they did in 2022, according to DeHaan, when the average price per litre of gasoline in Saskatchewan approached the $2.00 mark. He feels they will be closer to how they were last year.
“For summer, prices were in the $1.50s for most of what we saw,” DeHaan said. “I’d be hopeful that, potentially with the carbon tax increase, we may be closer to the $1.60s for most of the summer this year.”
For those who use diesel, prices have moderated slightly in Saskatchewan, with the average price per litre currently at $1.68. Prices are expected to stay slightly below what they were last year, at least for the time being.