As gas prices continue to skyrocket, the cost of keeping the tank full is having a domino effect on business owners who rely on travel to stay afloat.
This weekend alone, gas prices have risen 10 cents to an average of 165.9 cents/litre at most GTA stations. Since the start of the month, when the United States and Israel launched missile attacks against Iran, the price at the pumps has climbed 31 cents. For some drivers, it’s starting to affect their everyday lives.
“Right now it’s double the price, diesel price is double,” said Mansur Sourov, whose moving company relies on truck rentals for daily operations. “It used to be $1.50, right now it’s more than $2, so whatever we’re earning, most of our profit is going towards fuels and our regular maintenance stuff, so it’s kinda getting hard.”
Sourov is not alone. A driver for a limousine company tells CityNews it’s been tough on customers.
“It’s really hard to tell the customer, who used to pay, say $300 for a limo ride, and now you charge them $500, it’s hard to tell them that’s because of the price of fuel.”
Global oil and gas prices continue to be impacted by the war in Iran, as the Middle East nation blocks shipments along the Strait of Hormuz – a passageway that sees about 20 per cent of the world’s oil go through. Experts say it could last for an extended period, as the rising prices are all dependent on the conflict clearing up.
“And even if the conflict were to end, it will take at least a few months for this to work its way through the system before prices start to return to something closer to the pre-conflict pricing,” said Warren Mabee of the Queen’s Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy at Queen’s University.
Drivers who spoke with CityNews say the price hikes have changed their driving habits, with some saying they aren’t driving as far or as often and others saying they are putting less in the tank because they need money for other necessities.
“It will start to show up in other consumer goods because, of course, everything that we take in, all the food we buy, most of the things that we purchase, have to be shipped from somewhere. And that means that those prices for higher fuel are going to start to show up in the price for food and the price for clothing, things like that,” explained Mabee.
Mabee says while Canada possesses a robust oil sector, the question of why it’s affecting our prices is simple – we’re a part of a global market.
“When you get into these types of situations where we actually have a constraint on supply that is affecting everybody, it can result in much higher prices much faster.”
En-Pro predicts the next likely price change won’t come until at least Tuesday.