Recent increases in gas prices are only the beginning

In the past few days, regular gas prices jumped in Airdrie around 11 cents, sadly it probably won't stop there with April on the way.

Regular gas has seemingly gone from $1.299 to $1.409 in a matter of two days at most gas stations in Airdrie. 

Gas Buddy's Head of Petroleum Analysis, Patrick De Haan explained a lot of factors are in play with the recent jump and that more increases are expected.

"With the combination of rising oil prices, the transition to summer gasoline, it's possible that we could see a five to 10 cents a litre increase here; with the increase in the carbon tax, it could be quite noticeable." 

Before this increase, it has been a rather quiet month when it comes to price changes, but this large change can be attributed to the rising price of oil.

"Over the last month, it's been fairly quiet at the gas pumps, figuratively speaking for this time of year, gas prices across Alberta have decreased for most of March, hitting a high point on March 9, when the provincial average was about $1.313." 

April 1 will more than likely see another jump as federal tax changes come into play plus a second carbon tax possibly coming into play in July. 

"Oil prices in the last week have jumped back up. They were as low as $66 a barrel and now they're at about $73. That is what's pushing gasoline prices higher."

When it comes to diesel prices, De Haan can see the same thing happening with the prices going in the wrong direction.

"Diesel inventories have been tightening a bit, along with broader concerns and carbon tax assessments, we could see an end to the decline in the price of diesel at least temporarily."

Diesel prices right now in Airdrie are around the $1.429 range.

When asked about what his predictions were for the summer, De Haan, said he could see the prices jump upward to around $1.409 to $1.509 a litre. He did state there are a lot of moving parts that will affect the price though. 

Taking a look at neighbouring provinces, Saskatchewan's regular gas price average is around $1.552 while British Columbia's is around $1.809.

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