Metro Vancouver drivers get slight relief at the pumps as gas prices drop

There was a pleasant surprise for motorists commuting to work Monday morning and their wallets, with gas prices falling in Metro Vancouver.

Prices tumbled as low as $2.01 a litre, after a six-cent drop late last week. And the cost to fill a tank is expected to drop another couple of cents later this week.

The relief comes after prices spiked to $2.12 earlier this month. Dan McTeague of Canadians for Affordable Energy attributed the rise to tight supply in the Pacific Northwest and the switch over to summer blends of gasoline.

0:54 Metro Vancouver gas prices rise to $2.12, five-cent jump overnight

Winter gas is cheaper than summer blends because it contains higher levels of butane — an inexpensive but volatile element that lowers the cost of fuel, Patrick de Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told The Canadian Press.

The cost of producing summer gas is higher because butane levels are reduced to meet Canadian environmental regulations and lower emissions.

However, the relief may be short-lived. If predictions from earlier this month are accurate, McTeague says prices could rise as high as $2.30 a litre by late spring.

— with files from The Canadian Press

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