Prices for gasoline took a sharp jump upwards in mid-January which could be a sign of things to come. (File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

pump pain

‘It may come in spurts:’ gas prices forecast to continue upward trend for Nanaimo

Jan 25, 2023 | 5:25 AM

NANAIMO — A spike in prices at the pump may be just the beginning for mid-Island residents.

A litre of regular gasoline in Nanaimo jumped from the mid-150 cents per litre to the high 160’s within the space of a few days in the last week, a sign of things to come according to GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan.

He said the provincial average is now 172.3 cents per litre.

“A lot of this comes on the heels of oil prices that have continued to rebound as China has re-opened its economy, boosting consumption. In addition, the Arctic blast that we saw back in late December is still having an impact on refineries in the U.S. and some in Canada.”

The downtime at refineries has meant less production is being coupled with the increase in global demand.

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As of the afternoon on Tuesday, Jan. 24, only a couple of stations in Nanaimo were still offering gasoline for below 160 cents per litre.

Most were between 166.9 and 169.9 cents per litre.

“It may come in spurts, for now prices have been level for the last couple of days but we could see prices going up later this week or early next,” De Haan said. “It’s very difficult to predict simply because so much is tied up in China’s economy reopening.”

He added the unpredictability of China’s plans are also affecting global prices.

“Daily and weekly data, how that reopening is going can change and could certainly shift where we go in the next couple of weeks.”

Prices spiked in excess of $2.00 per litre in summer 2022 throughout the mid-Island.

— with files from 97.3 The Eagle

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