Gas Going Back Up To 89 Cents On Wednesday
Posted November 4, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Well, it was fun while it lasted. The big break at the pumps motorists were enjoying on Tuesday is going to partially disappear after midnight, as prices shoot up 4 cents. They had gone down by almost 7 cents the night before.
Liberal watchdog Dan McTeague is warning the pump jump will re-inflate the price to 89 cents a litre for regular, still better than what we’ve been paying but not the 85 cents bargain most were anxiously jumping at all day.
The latest change comes after oil shot back up again on world markets, closing for the day above $70 a barrel. It had been as low as $63 on Monday.
Experts say you should get used to the roller coaster ride, because after the market meltdown, there’s simply no way of knowing when the next increase is coming. They’re blaming the uncertainty in the U.S., which is a mixture of falling demand and a falling American dollar, leaving investors looking for something safe to put their money into.
Others think some are awaiting the outcome of the election results, leading the markets to take a shaky wait-and-see attitude.
Whatever the reason, those in the know say you’d better get used to it.
“The volatility and huge price swings we’ve seen this year are unmatched,” relates Ben Brockwell of the Oil Price Information Service. “These erratic changes are a 2008 phenomenon.”
Still, McTeague is standing by his prediction that a downward trend is in the offing. “The proverbial bubble has burst in futures commodities markets.as predicted by this Member of Parliament back in April,” he notes. “The price now has nowhere to go but down. There is no demand.”
He expects the price will float around the 80 cents-a-litre mark for the next few months.
What does that mean to you? Like the stock market, buy low and sell high. When gas prices are good, top up your tank even if you don’t really need a lot. Keeping it full when things are low will allow you to bypass a fill-up when it goes back up.
And given the volatile nature of the current market, that could be anywhere and anytime.
