Gas prices in Greater Victoria were at 149.9 cents per litre on Oct. 4, 2018.
The price of regular-grade gasoline has jumped 10 cents across Greater Victoria.
On Wednesday night and Thursday morning, the price increased from 139.9 cents per litre to 149.9 cents per litre at most stations in the Greater Victoria area. Last October, prices were around 125.8 cents per litre.
Dan McTeague, a senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy, said the wholesale price for gasoline has gone up about 15 cents a gallon in the U.S.
“Much of our supply comes from there so those prices had to be reflected sooner or later at the pumps,” McTeague said.
McTeague said gas stations could have set the price higher. Gasoline retail margins are usually around 11 or 12 cents per litre but in Greater Victoria, it’s about seven or eight cents per litre.
“I know it doesn’t look great but you do have quite a bit of taxes that have been added to fuel costs especially in the Greater Victoria area served by transit,” McTeague said.
The taxes include the carbon tax and the tax to fund transit improvements. British Columbia’s carbon tax rate also went up by $5 on April 1. It is now $35 a tonne, which meant an increase of about 1.2 cents per litre to the price of gas and diesel. There was a two per cent per litre tax increase to fund transit improvements in the area.
“All of these things are also indicative of oil overall moving up about seven dollars a barrel over the past month,” McTeague said.
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