The price of gas is likely to come down five to seven cents a litre over the next few weeks, but will then rise backup to an average of 130 to 133 cents a litre through the summer months, said a gas price tracker.
Jason Toews, co-founder of GasBuddy.com, said the price of gas “always” goes higher in the summer compared to the winter due to the higher summer driving season. He said issues with the Suncor Refinery near Edmonton this year has also caused gas prices to go five to six cents higher than they should be right now.
“In June, we’re going to see gas prices come down hopefully,” said Toews. “The bad news is we’ll see gas prices going back up in July and August. Davidson should be seeing prices probably around, within several weeks, down to around 126 to 127 (cents) per litre.”
As of last Friday the price of regular gas at the Shell gas station at Highway 11 and Gunners Gas and Convenience on King Edward Street was 135 cents per litre.
Toews said the price of a litre of regular gas was flat at 125.9 cents most of last summer. He said this price was “way too high” because there was not enough competition among gas stations to bring it down, but that has changed this year.
“What we’ve seen recently is that Costco came to Regina and is really changing the price trends and patterns in Regina,” he said. “It has had a ripple effect even into Saskatoon and through Davidson. It has really impacted prices all across the province.”
Costco moving into Regina has resulted in a more “competitive” market for gas throughout Saskatchewan, said Toews, resulting in less profit for gas stations unlike last summer.
“Right now the problem is not so much profit, but the supply and demand of gasoline,” he said. “It’s because of the shortage in gasoline caused by the Suncor Refinery in Edmonton. There is profit in gasoline right now, but at the wholesale level rather than the retail level.”
Brian Arend, a Davidson landscaper, said the high gas prices have hurt his pocketbook, so he has to ask customers if he can raise prices for cutting their lawns. He said the gas he buys for his lawnmowers is too expensive, so it is costing him more to do his job.