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Gas prices hit $1.68 a litre as record highs continue in Metro Vancouver

GasBuddy.com analysts expect prices to dip in the next two days as Washington refinery ramps up
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Gas price spotted in Metro Vancouver on April 12, 2019. (Laura Baziuk/Black Press Media)

Gas prices have reached a new record in Metro Vancouver, marking the third week in a row of high costs at the pump.

On Friday morning, gas stations in and around Vancouver were selling has for 168.9 cents per litre. In Abbotsford, where gas prices don’t include a transit tax, gas was roughly 145.9 cents a litre.

GasBuddy.com petroleum analyst Dan McTeague had said on Twitter Thursday that prices from Prince George to Victoria could rise anywhere from five to 15 cents a litre overnight.

The previous record was last week at 164.5 cents per litre.

McTeague has blamed the hike on the increase to B.C.’s carbon tax that came into effect on April 1, adding about a cent per litre, as well as two major fuel suppliers in Puget Sound undergoing maintenance. One of those refineries is expected to be up and running over the next few days.

That could lead to prices dipping slightly in the next 24-48 hours, but McTeague couldn’t say how long the price jump will last until there are further market indicators.

“After Easter we should start to see prices go back to normal,” he said.

READ MORE: Metro Vancouver gas prices tie all-time record at $1.63 a litre

READ MORE: B.C. carbon tax up April 1, other provinces begin to catch up

– With files from the Victoria News


@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca

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About the Author: Ashley Wadhwani-Smith

I began my journalistic journey at Black Press Media as a community reporter in my hometown of Maple Ridge, B.C.
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