Gas prices expected to smash record high in Metro Vancouver

A leading analyst predicts the average price of gasoline in Metro Vancouver will hit $1.71 a litre by Thursday, two cents shy of the record high.

A leading analyst predicts the average price of gasoline in Metro Vancouver will hit $1.71 a litre by Thursday, two cents shy of the record high.

It’s also a lot higher than the price was around this time last year, at $128.9.

But this week’s jump is just a small bump in what’s expected by to be a huge spike in the cost of filling up in the coming months.

Oil is making a comeback. Increased demand, and lower production particularly in the United States, is pushing up the price of a barrel, according to Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy.

“The rest of the world is behind and there are problems with oil production in places like Mexico. Venezuela has a serious problem with its production,” McTeague said.

That’s why he figures the average price in Metro Vancouver will hit $1.85 a litre by March or April.

“This would be of course new territory, and for many people quite the shock,” said McTeague.