Gas prices are climbing across the region, jumping at least four cents a litre overnight.
The hike at the pumps follows a day that saw crude oil prices close above US$100 per barrel.
"The crude price certainly worldwide has been putting a lot of pressure on the gasoline market," Dane Bailey of Petroleum Products Institute told CTV News.
"If we look over the last 10 days the wholesale price of gasoline has increased about 11 cents a litre. What we've seen at the pumps recently in the last 24 hours is the retail market is catching up to that wholesale price," Bailey said.
That increase was noticed by drivers across the region.
"I'm going to have to ask my dad for money," one young woman told CTV News.
"Makes me want to drive less," said another driver.
The Petro-Canada gas station on Baseline Road and Maitland Avenue was selling gas at $1.173 per litre Wednesday morning. Prices at gas stations across Ottawa hovered around $1.11 per litre throughout the day.
According to ontariogasprices.com, the price of gas varied depending on where drivers were filling up their tanks Wednesday:
- Pembroke's high was $1.119 per litre of gasoline.
- Kingston's high was $1.099 per litre of gasoline.
- Cornwall's high was $1.079 per litre of gasoline.
According to ottawagasprices.com, the price of gas in Gatineau reached $1.134 per litre.
Experts say a refinery shutdown and global unrest are behind the climbing prices.
The high price at the pump isn't expected to stop rising anytime soon. Some experts are warning that gas prices will continue to rise throughout the spring and summer.
"Traditionally, the prices tend to go up before the summer driving period," said Bailey.
"The refineries try to build a lot of inventory. Everybody expects the gasoline demand to go up and there's always a concern of are we going to have enough product to get through the summer," he said.
While Bailey says the premium for gasoline is speculative and a "very, very difficult thing to predict," there are things drivers can do to limit their gasoline expenses.
"We can't change the cents per litre that we pay but there are lots of things that we can do to effect how much it's going to cost us dollars per month by being more fuel efficient," he said.
Some of those things include:
- driving less often
- planning more efficient trips
- keeping your car in-tune and
- buying more fuel efficient vehicles
