GTA drivers should fill up their gas tanks on this day before prices go up

Dan McTeague says drivers can expect to see a 5-cent spike in gas prices this week after the collapse of the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.

Drivers in the Greater Toronto Area should fill up their tanks on Thursday as gas prices are expected to spike, one industry analyst says.

Dan McTeague, the president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, tells CP24 that gas prices are to jump five cents a litre on Friday to 169.9 cents, while diesel will rise 13 cents per litre to 198.9.

McTeague said prices are likely to rise another five cents, possibly more, through the weekend.

“Tomorrow is the best day to fill up. You’re going to get gas for, you know, no more than 164.9,” he said.

“I think you’re going to see gradual increases over the next several days, which will probably bring prices up an average of 10 to 15 cents a litre by the time we get to some other announcement at some point down the road.”

• Find the best gas stations with the cheapest prices in the GTA.

On Wednesday, 18 days since the United States and Iran agreed to a 60-day ceasefire, President Donald Trump said that deal was “over” after Iranian attacks on commercial shops in the Strait of Hormuz and on American military sites in the Middle East.

Following his comments, oil prices rose to their highest points in weeks. The U.S. president did say the renewed attacks did not mean a return to full-scale war.

“We’re seeing markets finally have to come to the reality that there is a significant, dramatic shortage of both oil and petroleum products like gasoline and diesel around the world,” McTeague said in an interview with CP24.

“The events of the past 24 hours are one of the main reasons why we’re not seeing oil being talked down. We’re not seeing gasoline being talked down or diesel on global markets, especially the future markets. We’re now seeing the full effect and full impact.”

With files from The Associated Press