Motorists in southern Manitoba are getting a little reprieve from record high gas prices.

The price of regular gasoline dipped just below $2 per litre over the July 1st long weekend, after peaking at about $2.08 at some pumps in Steinbach for the last month. 

Patrick De Haan is Head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy. He says what we saw last weekend could be a trend, noting gas prices tend to move for several weeks at a time.

"Oil prices are plummeting yet again (Tuesday) morning," says De Haan. "A barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil is down five and a half dollars a barrel as stock markets plummet. The wholesale price of gasoline is also seeing huge declines. The average decline here about five to six cents per litre this morning, so, that could deliver further relief across the province here in the week ahead, should oil prices maintain the dip."

He says it is difficult to predict too far into the future as there are many things going on behind the scenes, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the concern for an economic downturn.

"We could see a spike in prices should there be any disruptions at the refining level. Things like a hurricane or unexpected shutdowns could cause prices to surge well beyond the $2 per litre mark in the future," says De Haan. "If we don't get any storms or hurricanes, or disruptions, we could eventually see prices falling to $1.75 per litre by later this fall. It's not impossible, by the end of the year, we could be closer to $1.50 per litre."

As of Tuesday morning, prices in Manitoba averaged around $2.008 per litre, according to GasBuddy.com.

Here is the ranking of the provinces/territories:

  • Alberta: $1.871 per litre
  • Ontario: $1.892 per litre
  • New Brunswick: $1.991 per litre
  • Saskatchewan: $2.002 per litre
  • Manitoba: $2.008 per litre
  • Nova Scotia: $2.040 per litre
  • Quebec: $2.064 per litre
  • PEI: $2.109 per litre
  • British Columbia: $2.123 per litre
  • Northwest Territories: $2.133 per litre
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: $2.160 per litre

As of Monday, the most expensive fuel in Canada could be found in Squamish, B.C. at $2.249 per litre, while the cheapest fuel could be found in Bonnyville, Alberta at $1.709 per litre.