The impact of the unfolding conflict in the Middle East is being felt even more at the pumps in Metro Vancouver.
On Monday, data from 427 stations around the region showed a notable 10-cent-per-litre drop to an average of $1.65 per litre, but experts warned it wouldn’t last.
The head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.com, Patrick De Haan, explained that on Monday, the markets had not reacted to recent events.
“Looking ahead, markets will now begin reacting to this weekend’s U.S.-Iran attacks, which have elevated geopolitical risk premiums even in the absence of immediate supply disruption,” he explained.
As of Friday morning, the average price in Metro Vancouver is around $1.79 per litre, after rapidly increasing in a matter of days.
U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran have disrupted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz at the southern end of the Persian Gulf, through which 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply passes.
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As analyst Matt McClain tells CityNews, that’s led to volatility.
“Global oil supply has been, essentially, in a chokehold since, more or less, over this past weekend,” said McClain.
He says prices are expected to continue to climb in the next few days.
“Possibly as much as 10 to 15 more cents per litre,” said McClain. “And I hate to say that because that’s starting to get us close to that $2-per-litre mark, and I recognize the price sensitivity of it all — it gets very expensive, very quickly.”
CityNews spoke to one man at a Vancouver pump who was tracking the price upward, and “filling up, just in case.”
McClain says the price uncertainty is tied to the uncertainty over the conflict.
“As far as where we may go a month from now, that’s literally anyone’s guess, and no one honestly knows.”
While prices are rising across the country, as usual, B.C. is well above the national average of approximately $1.46 per litre.
—With files from The Associated Press