Nova Scotia gas prices plummet by nearly 10 cents/ litre
TRURO, N.S. – The price of gas in Nova Scotia fell 9.7 cents a litre overnight Monday after the provincial regulator invoked the interrupter clause for the second time in a week.
Regular, self-serve gasoline, as of Tuesday, was selling at 80.6 cents/l in Truro and for a minimum of 79.4 cents in the Halifax area. In Cape Breton, the minimum was 81.4 cents.
The price of diesel did not change and remains at 0.916/L.
The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board last used the interrupter clause March 11.
On Monday, Roger MCKnight, chief petroleum analyst at En-pro International, said that the dramatic reduction in the gas price is getting “scary” because of what it will do to the economy. While some people might feel pleased to have the lower pump price, Mcknight said he’s not sure how much longer the oil companies will be able to keep refining petroleum at such low prices.
“I’m going to check on the crack spread to see just how bad it really is,” he said. The crack spread is the price difference between a barrel of crude oil and the petroleum products refined from it.
Last week, the review board used the interrupter at midnight on Tuesday to lower the price of gasoline in Halifax from 105.9 cents per litre to 95.3 cents per litre, due to a dramatic drop in the market price for gasoline. Halifax represents the lowest price in the province, pump prices are slightly higher in specified districts throughout the province to account for the cost of transporting the fuel.
The gasoline price was adjusted last Thursday at midnight, which is the normal time for the provincial regulator to adjust the pump price of gasoline in Nova Scotia. In that case, the price was lowered again from 95.3 cents a litre in Halifax to 89.1 cents a litre.
In a news release Monday afternoon, the review board said the change is necessary due to significant shifts in the market prices of gasoline.
The province’s benchmark price of gasoline is based on an average of the daily market price for refined gasoline on the New York Mercantile Exchange converted into Canadian dollars. Retail price paid at the pumps is the benchmark price with wholesale margin, retailer markup, transportation allowance, cost of carbon, and taxes added. The price of diesel oil was not affected by the interruption.