No, you’re not dreaming: Gasoline prices fell below $2 a liter yesterday at some gas stations in the greater Montreal area.
• Also read: It is difficult to produce more oil and contain the rising prices
Several gas stations in the greater Montreal area advertised gasoline for $1.99 a liter. In Grenville-sur-le-Rouge and Saint-Zotique you can fill up for $1.95.
A liter of gasoline costs between $1.98 and $2.13 in Montreal. Last week it averaged $2.10.
Photo agency QMI, Thierry Laforce
Gasoline was just under $2 a liter yesterday morning on Chemin Chambly in Saint-Hubert, Montérégie.
In Quebec, the lowest price currently recorded on the GasBuddy platform was $2.07/L. This is about 10¢ less than last week.
- Listen to Philippe-Vincent Foisy’s commentary on QUB radio:
Finally a break
That price drop is good for the wallets of motorists, who had to contend with an average liter of gasoline last month at $2.13, according to data from CAA Quebec.
But the drop is unlikely to last as the market struggles to produce more oil to push prices lower.
To bring down the price at the pump, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced a gasoline tax cut on Friday. This saves motorists an average of $465 a year, he said.
Residents of Newfoundland, Labrador and Alberta are already enjoying a respite at their provincial governments’ pumps.
A wrong good idea
However, according to Jean-Thomas Bernard, a professor of economics at the University of Ottawa, cutting taxes would not be a viable solution.
“Prices have gone up because demand is high compared to what is available. Artificial price reductions do nothing to increase supply,” he said in an interview with TVA Nouvelles.
Last week, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies announced plans to increase production.
The decision is purely symbolic “given the limited capacity available,” said Tamas Varga, an analyst at PVM Energy.
OPEC+ is unable to make up for the oil shortage linked to the imposition of an embargo on Russian supplies by the United States and the European Union.
IT’S EVERYWHERE DOWN
Average price in cities across Quebec published yesterday
- $2.01
- Vaudreuil-Dorion $2.02
- Montreal $2.07
- Sherbrooke $2.13
- Quebec $2.17
Source: CAA Quebec
– With cooperation by Camille Payant and AFP