Gas prices in Victoria have surpassed an all-time record high.
A number of gas stations were recorded pricing fuel at over 164 cents a litre on Thursday. Before then, the highest recorded average was just last year, when prices were listed as high as 155.7 cents a litre.
GasBuddy.com analyst Dan McTeague said the price jump is likely the result of disturbances south of the border.
He says two Washington refineries are running at reduced rates and a number of California refineries have gone offline, reducing production by as much as two million barrels.
That means foreign oil has to be brought in – driving prices up all along the West Coast – and Victoria is one of the hardest hit.
“It’s having an impact on everyone along the coast,” McTeague said. “It means you have to bring prices higher to attract others to the market.”
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According to GasBuddy, the Shell station on Yates Street and the Shell on Nanaimo Road are sitting at 162.9 cents a litre, while the lowest prices can still be found at the downtown Essos and Petro Canada, both currently charging 153.9 cents a litre.
Todays average of 159.8 is 14.3 cents above last year’s average and 5.3 cents above last week’s.
McTeague says prices may dip slightly in the next 24-48 hours, but he can’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.
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