Canadian motorists can expect the price of gasoline to hover in its current range throughout the summer, the National Energy Board predicts in its latest energy outlook released Thursday.
Pump prices are to a large degree tied to the cost of its main ingredient, crude oil, which the NEB predicts will average between US$50 and $60 per barrel over the next few months.
With that outlook for crude oil prices, we would not expect prices for gasoline to approach the levels we've seen last summer," said oil market analyst Christian Rankin.
Consumers gassed up their vehicles for upwards of C$1.40 per litre in many parts of Canada last summer, as the crude oil prices hit a record US$147 per barrel.
On Thursday the average gas price across Canada was about C$1 per litre, up from 90 cents a litre a month ago but down from $1.32 at this time last year, according to the price-tracking website Gasbuddy.com.
Rankin said he does not expect to see much deviation from current prices throughout the summer.
Crude rose above US$65 on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday for the first time in 2009, as the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries stood firm on crude production levels and the U. S. government released two positive economic reports.
A few factors unrelated to crude prices have been behind the bump in gasoline prices to above the C$1 threshold recently.
One is that U. S. gasoline inventories are below their five-year average and are trending lower, the NEB said in its outlook.
The summer driving season is also underway, as more motorists take to the highways and drive up demand for gasoline.
