While Metro Vancouver gas stations were offering gas for well under a buck a litre in 2020, prices in 2021 are returning to pre-pandemic levels.
As of 5 p.m. Thursday (March 4), Gasbuddy.com said the cheapest place to fill up your tank was at the Superstore located at 350 SE Marine Drive, which is offering gas for 142.9 cents per litre. After that, a handful of stations are offering gas for 143.9 cents per litre, and one is offering it for $145.9.
The cheapest price in Burnaby at that time was at a station at Holdom and Hastings offering 143.9 per litre.
According to Dan McTeague, President of Canadians for Affordable Energy, formerly of GasBuddy.com, gas prices in Vancouver will continue to rise heading into the spring and summer months.
In a Tweet, the petroleum analyst remarks that prices as high as $1.70 a litre may return to local gas stations this year.
Patrick De Haan, Head of Petroleum Analysis with GasBuddy.com, tells Vancouver Is Awesome that roughly the last two weeks have seen a sharp increase in prices due primarily to refinery shutdowns south of the border due to extremely cold weather.
That said, De Haan says with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decision today to not yet raise output, "I would expect prices to continue trending higher over the coming weeks, and perhaps by the start of May, be 7-15 [cents per litre] higher than today, or potentially more, should demand for gasoline continue to rebound as the COVID-19 pandemic improves."
- With additional reporting by Elana Shepert, Vancouver is Awesome
