Image Credit: Shutterstock
March 19, 2020 - 5:46 PM
Driving is getting a little cheaper for those still with a reason to get behind the wheel in Kamloops and the Okanagan this week.
Dan McTeague of Canadians for Affordable Energy says prices are up a bit today for a barrel of oil after plummeting yesterday to unprecedented levels.
“Western Canadian crude dropped to just over $7 a barrel, levels never seen before,” he says.
"Overseas oil producers, including Russia and Saudi Arabia are in a “suicide mission” to undercut oil prices and destroy the pricing structure for all oil and see who’s going to win, and obviously, Canada is a victim of that,” he says.
The COVID-19 pandemic is also playing a big role in falling oil prices.
“It will be short term gain at the pumps but long term pain for the Canadian economy as a whole,” he says. “We can’t underestimate just how significant a hit this is going to be for the Canadian economy.”
McTeague says retailers are paying 86 cents a litre for fuel today, but notes some gas stations may not have the sales volumes needed to use up gas priced in last week’s market, calling it a particular problem in smaller communities.
Those gas stations will take a little longer to see reduced prices at the pump.
According to GasBuddy.com, Kamloops and Okanagan gas stations have seen a slow drop in the price of fuel over the past week, with today’s prices as follows:
-
Kamloops - 91.9 to 96.9 (per litre of regular fuel)
-
Vernon- 104.9 to 105.9
-
Kelowna - 109.9
-
Penticton - 108.9 to 109.9
To contact a reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to tips@infonews.ca and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2020