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By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

uncertainty overseas

Price of gas shoots up in Red Deer and across Canada

Feb 11, 2022 | 4:23 PM

The price for a litre of gas spiked in Red Deer this week, as it has in many Canadian communities, according to GasBuddy.com.

As of Thursday afternoon, the price in the city had jumped 12 cents overnight to a record average of 146.9 cents/litre.

The average price in Alberta, which is around $1.45/litre, is also a record high. The current average is 10.4 cents/litre higher than a week ago, and up 35.9 cents/litre from a year ago.

The year-to-year difference for Red Deer is plus-38 cents/litre, and up 12.0 cents/litre from last week.

Gas prices in Alberta shown over the course of 10 years, up to the present. (Credit: GasBuddy.com)

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Head of Petroleum Analysis with GasBuddy, Patrick De Haan, says there are a number of factors, a big one being uncertainty in Europe.

“The price of oil today jumped four per cent, a lot of which is due to rising tensions among Russia and Ukraine. The concerns there are that oil shipments could be interrupted if Russia chooses to invade,” explains De Haan.

“The market is assessing the risk there, and of course with COVID cases declining and the summer driving season just a couple months ahead, oil prices are reacting to the possibility that oil could be further disrupted at a time when demand typically goes up.”

De Haan warns also that the higher price for gas could be sustained.

“Starting in late February or early March, as gasoline demand starts to launch with spring breakers hitting the road, at a time when we transition to more expensive summer gasolines, and refineries are doing maintenance ahead of the summer driving season, those seasonal factors will start to come into play,” he says.

“Plus, with the geopolitical tensions, we could see more increases, as much as 15 to 30 cents more by the time May and June roll around.”

One possible ‘light at the end of the tunnel,’ says De Haan, is a new nuclear deal with Iran.

If world powers, Canada and the U.S. included, it would be good news, at least as far as gas prices go.

“Iran’s oil has been sanctioned for a few years under President Trump, but if we see that oil return to the market, that could help alleviate price increases,” he says. “But a nuclear deal has been elusive thus far, so that’s not something that’s guaranteed at all, but it could bring oil prices down long-term if it does happen.”

More information on the current gas price situation is on our Gas Prices page.