Ontario: GTA Drivers Wake Up To Near Dollar A Litre Gas

Most people have their nightmares when they’re asleep. But GTA drivers got theirs when they woke up Thursday morning and discovered the price of gas had soared again.

It’s now at 99.8 cents for regular, all but at that psychological loonie-a-litre mark.
It’s the first time since last fall that we’ve been shelling out that much to top up the tank. Gas hit $1.03 a litre the week of October 21st only to deflate almost ten cents seven days later. It’s been inching up ever since, but it’s never quite shattered that dollar ceiling.

Now it’s back and most analysts are warning drivers it will stay around that mark -- or higher -- all summer.
What’s the reason? As they might say in the film Casablanca, it’s “the usual suspects.”

Oil has soared to its highest level of the year on world markets, hovering near the U.S. $72 a barrel mark. It’s based on apparent optimism that an economic recovery is on the way.
Crude is often a last resort for investors and speculators looking for a quick buck or something secure, and it appears they’ve come back to the old standby. Last March, oil was selling for just $35 a barrel, and we had some of the cheapest pump prices seen here in years. Since then, it’s jumped almost $40.

So while the bad times for the economy may be ending, the bad times for your fill-up budget may just be starting.
Then there’s what Liberal MP and gas watchdog Dan McTeague says is the outright greed of the producers, arguing prices should be as much as 11 cents cheaper in Ontario than they are now.
It also doesn’t hurt that we’re heading into a summer weekend when more cars hit the road, leading oil companies to insist it’s about supply and demand.

Still, as bad as things are here, they could be worse. Motorists in B.C. and Quebec have been paying well over a dollar a litre for weeks, and drivers in Vancouver and Montreal are being forced to pay in the $1.07 range on Thursday to keep from running on empty.

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