Gas expert hopeful prices will continue dropping in coming weeks

On Wednesday a number of Moose Jaw gas stations lowered their price below $2/litre to 199.9 cents per litre.

Wednesday marked the first time gas has been below $2/litre in over a month. Though it’s not a huge drop, it is still a sign that gas could be on its way down.

GasBuddy Petreloum Analyst, Patrick DeHaan says he is forecasting that prices will continue inching down in the coming weeks.

“We could see prices continuing to drop across Saskatchewan and Moose Jaw as well, it wouldn’t surprise me if in the next week or two we could see a decrease of another five to ten cents per litre.” Oil prices plummeted to start the week, with oil falling under $100/barrel for the first time in months.”

Not all stations saw decreases as a few are still listing their price at 206.9 cents per litre, which broke a record for the highest average seen in Moose Jaw dating back to 2008.

DeHaan notes there have been a couple of factors coming into play in recent weeks that have contributed to gas prices decreasing.

“There has been a lot of economic concerns about a slow down in the economy, which could slow down oil consumption. In addition, gasoline supply has been improving in the last few weeks and that’s contributed to a drop in the wholesale price of gasoline.”

Lower fuel prices have been seen across the country as the Canadian average has dropped down to 195.0 cents per litre. Provincially, the average price of fuel has gone down to 198.0, with Moose Jaw hovering around the 199.9 cents per litre average.

Looking forward further into this year, DeHaan is hopeful gas prices will continue to drop.

“Potentially into the fall if things go well, there is the potential we could see prices across Canada falling back to an average of 150.0 cents per litre. There remains to be a lot to be seen, things could shift geopolitically. There is certainly no guarantee we get down to that level, but there remains that possibility.”

Though prices are dropping slightly, DeHaan notes things such as supply disruptions, hurricanes on the east coast, and a turn in crude oil prices could cause prices to increase once again.

Thunder Bay, ON, still remains the cheapest place in Canada to get gas on Wednesday afternoon at a price of 163.9, while Golden, B.C., has the most expensive gas in the country at 219.9 cents per litre.