Gas prices in Vancouver have spiked and analysts predict they’ll be going up again.
Prices were as high as 161.9 cents a litre at some stations on Wednesday.
The sudden increase is still mainly attributed to two of B.C.’s major suppliers in Puget Sound undergoing maintenance and not producing as much fuel, according to Dan McTeague, senior petroleum analyst at GasBuddy.com, which monitors fuel pricing information and data.
The Shell Anacortes and BP Cherry Point refineries were further strained when other suppliers in California had troubles at their plants, McTeague said, including maintenance and an explosion.
READ MORE: Gas prices spike in Lower Mainland
“There is a crunch in terms of supply and demand along much of the U.S. Pacific coast,” he said. “There is only a finite amount of fuel.”
McTeague said it’s difficult to predict whether prices will be coming down soon, but there could be some relief when the refineries are back up and running.
“I think all of B.C. has been hit pretty hard – Vancouver, Victoria, I would even say the Interior because we have gasoline coming down the Trans Mountain pipeline, but it’s oversubscribed,” meaning it’s at capacity.
joti.grewal@bpdigital.ca
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