If you were thinking about filling up in Airdrie on Wednesday and decided to wait a day or two you are likely kicking yourself today.  

The price being displayed yesterday (April 30) afternoon on every single station in Airdrie was 79.9 cents a litre (c/l), a jump of 18 cents a litre from the 61.9 c/l it had stood at the day before. As of Friday morning, some stations are as high as 83.9 c/l.

Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan with GasBuddy.com attempts to explain to shell-shocked drivers the massive jump.  "Edmonton is generally priced in the Chicago market in the U.S. and unfortunately as refineries have cut back in the last few weeks how much crude oil they're processing, that's basically placed a floor on gasoline prices.  Wholesale gas prices have jumped considerably in the last few days."

DeHaan says while oil prices have fallen, refineries are not processing as much crude oil which is contributing to lower oil prices, but it also means that oil companies are getting less gas out of their refineries.  That has contributed to lower supply which in turn has boosted prices.

DeHaan believes we may not have seen the last of prices increases either, although he says they won't be going up as sharply as in the last day or so.  He also attributes the price hikes to some American states beginning to reopen their economies as well, even before COVID-19 stats have started to drop.  

"I think as states start to reopen we have seen demand for gas begin to go up a slight bit.  But, in light of refineries scaling back greatly how much gasoline they're producing, we're essentially now not at a surplus but a slight deficit of gasoline.  So the market needs a little bit more given the fact that some markets are seeing more motorists back out on the road that will stem how quickly prices go up."

DeHaan says the wholesale price in Chicago, which is the basis for some Canadian prices, has soared by 40c/gallon, or the equivalent of about 11c/l which led to the rapid increase in price.  "What we've seen in terms of the rapid increase is not something motorists should expect to continue."

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