Despite predictions a week and a half ago that gas prices in the city were about to rise by about 10 cents per litre (c/L) Airdrie drivers are happy to be getting a continued reprieve for their wallets from high prices.  

This morning (January 14) most Airdrie gas stations had a litre of gas priced at between 84 and 86 cents.  According to GasBuddy.com, the average price in Alberta rose by 1.4 c/L last week to sit at 98.13 c/L.  That puts Airdrie prices at as much as 14 cents less.  The Canadian average remained unchanged from last week but is still almost $1.02 per litre.  

Back on January 4th, Dan McTeague, Senior Petroleum Analyst with GasBuddy predicted gas prices would likely rise that day to around 98 c/L.  McTeague's forecasts usually come true.  Thankfully, this time, it didn't.  

McTeague says the rise in energy prices appears to be well at hand, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil now at $10 per barrel above it's Christmas Eve low of $42 a barrel.  The decision by the Alberta government to curtail oil production in the province by 325,000 barrels a day seems to be working in cutting the price differential between WTI and Western Canadian Select (WCS) oil.  WCS is now a full $25 a barrel higher than in mid-December when it was selling for $12 a barrel.

OPEC and other oil producing nations have also made good on their promise to reduce oil production collectively by 1,2 million barrels per day.  Energy prices are poised to gain for the third week in a row which will likely lead to higher prices at the pumps.

McTeague says the dramatic decline in energy markets in the last quarter of 2018 provided Canadians with a savings of over 27 c/L or an average of $300 since early October. 

He says drivers need to be cautious as higher gas prices are likely which might catch many consumers off guard. 

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