Record gas prices predicted

(Updated)

A gas price analyst is calling for a big jump in the price at the pumps.

Roger McKnight is a senior gas expert with En-Pro, and he says that what is coming is something like a perfect storm. The result, he predicts, could see gas prices rise above $1.40 a litre – an all-time high.

McKnight says that the falling Canadian dollar is making gas more expensive. Combine that with this unseasonably cold winter that is burning more fuel; also, refineries have to shut down in order to transition to the summer driving season that starts in May, making gas more scarce.

And of course, above all, the gas companies are used to making big profits and will continue to do so. CHCH News asked McKnight if there is a breaking point at which consumers just won’t buy gas anymore.

“In 2005 when it hit a dollar, because of Katrina. Then it went up to a dollar-10 and the sky was really falling, a dollar-20 and we were going to fall into the centre of the earth. A dollar-30 and we’re getting used to it, the people’s heads get harder or the walls get softer, one of the two.”

We have seen gas over $1.30 a litre back in 2008 before the financial meltdown which caused prices to tumble way down. McKnight pointed out that wholesale gas is currently selling at .84 cents per litre and the rest of the money goes to the retailer, and of course, taxes.