You might want to wait a few days to fill up your gas tank in Metro Vancouver.
Dan McTeague, with the , says the high prices are set to come down by Wednesday.
鈥淚鈥檓 looking at a two-cent decrease, so the high end will be 143.9 cents a litre,鈥� McTeague said. That鈥檚 down from a high of 147.9 cents on Sunday and a slight drop to 145.9 on Monday.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a bit of a tug-of-war as to what happens over the next couple of days,鈥� he added, 鈥渂ut I sense that there鈥檚 still room for another two- to three-cent decrease.鈥�
Lower Mainland drivers had been cringing, anticipating prices at the pump to hit 1.50 cents a litre, but McTeague said no one needs to worry 鈥� yet.
The higher prices are being driven by global demand for gas, particularly in the U.S., he said, and are not helped by Canada鈥檚 reliance on foreign oil.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have enough domestic gasoline to meet demand [so] we鈥檙e beholden to the highest of prices.鈥�
The only refinery in the region is the Shell facility in Burnaby, which McTeague said has steadily produced 45,000 barrels of oil for decades.
Metro Vancouver, with its extra gas taxes, is bearing the brunt of the cost hike, but gas stations in the Fraser Valley are seeing prices higher than usual.
鈥淚t should be 133.9,鈥� McTeague said. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 any higher than that, they鈥檙e just increasing their retail [margin]. I鈥檓 seeing 136.9 and to those stations I say, 鈥楥alm your enthusiasm.鈥欌��
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