Despite a pattern of plummeting prices, Toronto drivers probably won’t find cheaper gas at the pumps on Wednesday. But people planning road trips for the May long weekend shouldn’t have to worry about gas prices that really hurt the wallet. Wednesday’s cost for gas will be around $1.28.5 per litre, the same as Tuesday, according to www.tomorrowsgaspricetoday.com. The site is run by gas price watcher and critic Dan McTeague, a former Liberal MP. One week ago, motorists were filling up at a cost as high as $1.41 per litre. “At any given time, world price might be one thing but in Canada, we tend to overcharge consumers an additional 5 to 10 per cent. That’s as a minimum,” McTeague said. However, it seems like gas prices are trending downward, McTeague said. While he said it’s impossible to predict prices for more than a couple days in advance, he thinks it’s unlikely gas prices will hit last week’s highs for the upcoming long weekend. On his website, McTeague says the prices are a result of a distorted supply and demand chain, created by oil speculators and a lack of regulation and competition on the international market. These days, he says, GTA drivers are paying a premium of 7 cents per litre at the pump. “The reality is the prices that you’re seeing right now has a lot to do with lowered demand,” he said To make his prediction, McTeague calculates the wholesale price of oil, based on futures markets and the price of crude oil, adds federal and provincial gas taxes and the margin per litre that retailers allow themselves. It cost 97.3 cents per litre of gas to fill up this time last year in the GTA.

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