Crude oil prices plummet, fuel prices slowly dropping at the pumps

Driving is getting a little cheaper for those still with a reason to get behind the wheel in Kamloops and the Okanagan this week.

Dan McTeague of Canadians for Affordable Energy says prices are up a bit today for a barrel of oil after plummeting yesterday to unprecedented levels.

“Western Canadian crude dropped to just over $7 a barrel, levels never seen before,” he says.

"Overseas oil producers, including Russia and Saudi Arabia are in a “suicide mission” to undercut oil prices and destroy the pricing structure for all oil and see who’s going to win, and obviously, Canada is a victim of that,” he says.

The COVID-19 pandemic is also playing a big role in falling oil prices.

“It will be short term gain at the pumps but long term pain for the Canadian economy as a whole,” he says. “We can’t underestimate just how significant a hit this is going to be for the Canadian economy.”

McTeague says retailers are paying 86 cents a litre for fuel today, but notes some gas stations may not have the sales volumes needed to use up gas priced in last week’s market, calling it a particular problem in smaller communities.

Those gas stations will take a little longer to see reduced prices at the pump.

According to GasBuddy.com, Kamloops and Okanagan gas stations have seen a slow drop in the price of fuel over the past week, with today’s prices as follows:

• Kamloops – 91.9 to 96.9 (per litre of regular fuel)
• Vernon- 104.9 to 105.9
• Kelowna – 109.9
• Penticton – 108.9 to 109.9

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