Gas prices in Toronto spike overnight, analysts predict further increases

CP24’s Courtney Heels has the latest on the conflict in the Middle East causing an increase at the gas pumps.

Gas prices in Toronto jumped six cents overnight to $1.439 per litre amid the conflict in the Middle East, and analysts expect that the price at the pump could keep climbing.

Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, predicted the initial spike earlier this week and said another six-cent increase could be coming on Thursday.

He and other energy experts have said that if the war in Iran, now in its fifth day, drags on the price of crude oil could continue to rise and affect gasoline prices further.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, briefly rose above US$84 on Tuesday—a more than $10-dollar jump from when the conflict began. Meanwhile, a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 4.7 per cent to US$74.56.

Analysts have said that the movement of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which about a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped, could have a significant impact on the global oil supply.

READ MORE: What to know about the Strait of Hormuz amid the widening Iran war

The war has ground tanker traffic in the area to a halt, but U.S. President Donald Trump said he expects the price of oil to drop as soon as the military operation ends. Trump said in a post to Truth Social Tuesday that, if necessary, the U.S. Navy will begin escorting tankers through the strait.

With files from The Associated Press and Joe Van Wonderen