Gas prices have gone up over night going into the upcoming long weekend.
Gas prices in Sylvan Lake went up nearly 10 cents at most stations. The trend is expected to be seen across the country.
However, they probably should have gone up earlier than now, according to Dan McTeague, Senior Petroleum Analyst for Canada with GasBuddy.
“Really it hasn’t been a matter of when, but rather when the prices will go up,” said McTeague in a recent phone interview.
Gas retailers have been purchasing fuel at a higher cost for at least the last 10 days, though most had not yet raised their prices.
So, while the jump in prices at the pump may seem to be connected to the long weekend, McTeague says that isn’t the entire case.
“No one was really making any money keep prices where they were. They had to throw the towel in,” he said.
McTeague explained the sudden price increase right before the long weekend as a way to ensure there would be no losses.
During a long weekend fuel retailers see an increase in customers, as many take advantage of long weekends for some much needed R-and-R.
However, if the retailers kept their prices where they were, where they weren’t making any money, the long weekend would end up loosing them money.
“The loss would double [over the long weekend]. The rise in prices now reflects the eight cent retail margin for retailers,” said McTeague.
Expect prices to stay a little higher than what has been seen over the summer so far.
McTeague expects the prices at the pump to stay around the one dollar mark for at least the next couple weeks, possible into September.
He says the prices will likely be somewhere between 96 cents, at the low end, to 104 cents on the high end.
In September, retailers will begin to sell off their excess from the summer and prices may fall slightly then, as the summer driving season officially ends for gas retailers on Sept. 15.
“We’ve had a pretty decent ride for a while there.”
The entire province was hit with high prices when filling up.
Gas prices in Calgary and Edmonton went up on Aug 2 with Central Alberta following closely behind.