Calgary gas prices continue to fall; trend likely to last for weeks

Those lower oil prices may be impacting the provincial budget, but it's also helping drivers at the pump, as gas prices continue to tumble.

Calgary drivers are experiencing low gas prices many haven’t seen in months.

According to GasBuddy.com, the city’s average price hovered around 125.8 cents per litre on Tuesday, a drop of about 33 cents from last year’s average.

It’s the lowest price in Calgary since February of last year, but some stations in the city are already dropping prices closer to 120 cents per litre.

“Well, I’m glad they’re less than they were two weeks ago,” said Caleb Roberts, a driver filling up at 125.9 cents per litre on Tuesday.

“I’m up all over Calgary and I commute. I live in Airdrie, so it’s good for me—more money in my wallet.”

Gas prices across most of Canada have continued to slide in the two weeks since the consumer carbon tax was zeroed out.

That change accounts for most of the positive pricing drivers are seeing at the pump.

“(Calgary is) about 30 cents per litre lower, as of yesterday, compared to where we were at the end of March. Two-thirds of that is because of the elimination of the federal carbon tax, and that’s a policy change that’s here to stay,” said Trevor Tombe, an economics professor at the University of Calgary.

The price of oil is playing a part, too, Tombe explained.

Global tariffs implemented by the United States are contributing to the lower price of crude.

“That has really raised concerns around a global recession. So part of that reduction in gas prices is because of that, and hopefully, things settle down in the United States and recession concerns fade, in which case we might see oil prices globally rise to where they were before,” Tombe said.