Falling gas prices a gift that won’t keep on giving: anaylst
It was an early holiday celebration for motorists at some London, Ont. gas pumps Friday morning.
Primarily in the south and east end of the city, the price for a litre of gasoline fell to $1.25.
The temporary three-hour drop was prompted by a promotion at one service station that lowered its price for regular fuel by 10 cents a litre.
Within minutes most competing stations followed suit.
“It hasn’t been this low in over a year now,” exclaimed Carson Bollert as he filled up.
Londoner, Shari Boland, was also pleasantly surprised.
“I was really shocked. I was dropping my grandson off at school and I said, “Well, I’ve got to come in today.”
And with a growing list of grandchildren, the savings to fill up her minivan is substantial.
“This saves quite a bit, especially with a new granddaughter just arrived it’s going to make a big difference.”
That is especially true for drivers of larger gas vehicles.
Al Sater was happy to get a lower price as he recalled what he paid for gas in mid-June when prices peaked at $2.15 per litre.
“Almost $200, or $190, something like that”.
But at Friday's rate, he paid just over $100 to fill up.
At current prices, even small car drivers are saving $30 to $40 a fill-up, concedes a national gas price analyst.Jordan Vanderboor fills up gas cans during a temporary gas promotion. The price fell to $1.25 at some stations in London, Ont., on Friday, Dec. 9, 2022. (Sean Irvine/CTV London)
But Dan McTeague of GasWizard.ca cautions it is a Christmas gift that will not last into the new year.
McTeague predicts prices will jump well above $1.50 in late January and “skyrocket” from there.
“They are going to go back to $2.00 a litre and they are going to stay there, and there is nothing to hold them back.”
Perhaps this might be why some were filling up gas cans Friday.
Unfortunately, it is a futile tactic for those driving diesel vehicles.
With supply chain needs keeping diesel prices high, most drivers know their pain at the pumps is not going away.
“And it won’t”, shares McTeague. “Diesel is in short supply”
“I think the government should subsidize diesel more to lower the prices of groceries etc.”, shared one diesel driver while filling up. "Because people are poor, and it is not good,” he added.
But another driver put it back on the oil and gas companies.
He says if stations can afford promotions, they can afford to permanently drop prices.
“If they got the room and money to lower it by 10 cents for a few hours, that tells me maybe they’re making a little too much.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.