It’s a pain being felt at the pump across the country. Military strikes by the U.S. and Israel on Iran have sent shockwaves through global energy markets, sending oil prices higher. Experts say the effects will soon hit gas pumps. “With prices that you’re seeing in Ottawa – $1.37, $1.38 – look for those to increase to about $1.43 or $1.44 by Wednesday and likely $1.50 by the end of the week,” said Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy. For Ottawa motorist Mike Kelly, filling up is already a familiar frustration. “It’s not as bad as it’s going to get. Let’s put it that way,” Kelly said while filling up on Monday. Price-tracker Gasbuddy.com put the Canadian average at 135.8 cents a litre for regular unleaded gas early Monday afternoon, though there is a lag as it collects data from stations across the U.S. and Canada. That’s an increase of 1.7 cents from Sunday and 4.2 cents from last week’s average. In afternoon trading, the April crude contract was almost US$71 a barrel, an increase of nearly six per cent. “I kind of wish I’d filled up on a Saturday instead of today,” said driver Bob Murphy. “At my age now, I don’t go too far anyway, so it’s not as bad. But if I had to drive any distance to work every day, it would bother me a lot more.” For Denise Zuna, there’s no use fighting it. “You can’t help things. Some things you just kind of go with, unfortunately.” Iran exports approximately 1.6 million barrels of oil a day. While most of that goes to China, experts have raised concerns about the movement of oil through the Strait of Hormuz and the impact that could have on the global oil supply. With files from The Canadian Press and CTV News Toronto
