It’s time to get out there and fill up your gas tanks for the Labour Day long weekend, as prices in Ottawa and the surrounding a will drop to their lowest price since the winter.
Roger McKnight, Chief Petroleum Analyst with En-Pro International Inc., says gas prices at local stations are expected to drop 2 cents on Friday to 153.9 cents/litre.
That would mark the lowest price seen in the Ottawa since March when it dipped to a monthly low of 147.9 cents/litre.
The price of gas has hovered over 160.1 cents/litre for much of August, having only dipped below that threshold last week.
The recent drop followed a tumultuous month of July in terms of costlier-than-usual gas prices, with the high coming in at 170.9 cents (s)/litre and a low of 164.9 cents (s)/litre at most stations. It was much of the same in June, though drivers did feel a bit of relief that month as prices dipped to a monthly low of 157.9 cents/litre.
In April, the federal carbon price, also called the carbon tax, increased by $15 per tonne, bringing the total cost to $80 per tonne. That saw the gasoline carbon tax increase by 3.3 cents per litre, while diesel increased by 4.1 cents per litre.
The Ford government announced on March 25 that it would extend the gas tax cut until the end of the year.
Ottawa’s gas prices are updated daily here.