BLAME THE UNITED STATES

Higher gas prices caused by factors south of border

two refineries because of Hurricane Harvey. Third, it’s simple demand in the U.S.

“The U.S. economy is running on all cylinders and that means there is a bigger demand for gas,” said McTeague.

While most of the gas in Regina stations comes from the city’s Coop Refinery Complex, all of Canada uses global pricing benchmarks to determine the price of gas. “We’re price takers, not price makers,” said McTeague.

The good news is the Chicago spot market price dropped 16 cents since between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, foretelling a drop in the retail market.

But while the price of fuel should drop soon, McTeague says we have been spoiled over recent winters and shouldn’t expect to see prices at the levels they have been during recent cold-weather months (in January 2016, for example, gas was less than 70 cents per litre).

Demand in the U.S. is expected to stay strong and the addition of a 2.33-cent-per-litre carbon pricing levy means that we will be lucky to see prices under $1 per litre this winter, said McTeague. While most of the gas we use in southern Saskatchewan isn’t coming from the U.S., we can look south of the border for an explanation as to why the price at the pump is taking a jump.

Most gas stations in Regina increased prices this week to 116.9 cents per litre of regular fuel. It’s the highest prices have been since June 2016 and a far cry from the prices below $1 Regina stations had just a month ago. While most stations were at 116.9, the usual few — such as Regina Messenger, Regina Cabs, Costco and Saulteaux Junction — sat around a dollar per litre Friday.

According to Dan McTeague, a senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy.com, the price increase has to do with three U.S.-based factors that made the Chicago spot market price (on which most western Canadian gas prices are based) jump 50 cents per gallon in the past 10 days.

First, there was the rupture of the now-repaired Explorer pipeline that runs from the Gulf Coast to the U.S. Midwest, and then there was the delay of maintenance in

PHOTOS: TROY FLEECE The price of gas was 116.9 cents a litre at many local gas stations on Friday, including this one on South Albert Street.

There were lineups at stations like Regina Cabs on Saskatchewan Drive, where the price of gas was running about $1 per litre.