Gas prices have been falling across Alberta in recent weeks, though Medicine Hat stations seem to be charging more than most. An analyst with GasBuddy tells the News the reasons for doing so are plenty.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
With residents seeing gas prices remain high in Medicine Hat but dropping in outlying regions, sources suggest cheaper gas is on the way.
Patrick De Haan with the price-comparison app GasBuddy told the News that when the price of gas has dropped significantly, they will often see some volatility in what stations are charging. He explained that with oil prices at multi-year lows, some stations will pass along that decrease more rapidly, but in smaller centres, they may still be stuck with more expensive gas.
“They may want to lower prices slower as they sell through it,” said De Haan. “What we’re seeing is a lot of the fragmentation exists at the street level, between what stations are paying and when they bought their supplies of gasoline. As they fell through that gasoline, you may see a little bit more of a downward slope here in the days ahead.”
As of the time of writing, many stations here in Medicine Hat are charging approximately 122.0¢ a litre, where prices have dipped to roughly 116.0¢ in Taber and even lower than a dollar in some parts of Calgary. De Haan says many of the stations which are charging less are stations that see a high traffic volume.
The cost may also come from a desire to finish the year on a strong note, said De Haan.
“Especially ahead of the holidays, some stations may lower prices quicker to, you know, give something back to the community, but not every station has necessarily the ability to do that,” said De Haan. “Some stations may have had a lousy year and they’re trying to make it up by selling at a more profitable level.”
With prices trending lower over the past few weeks, De Haan recommends motorists hold off on buying a full tank for now and only purchase the fuel they need, while keeping an eye out for better opportunities in their travels should they leave the city.
“The only golden rule to gas prices is there’s not really a golden rule,” said De Haan. “Some places stay more expensive for a variety of reasons. Provincially, we’re down almost eight cents a litre in the last month, some stations may just try to drag their feet and yield a little bit more profit toward the end of the year.”
While motorists can’t do much to affect prices, what they can do is drive competition by patronizing the lowest priced stations in town and hold off on filling their tanks all the way until prices come down, said De Haan.
