We’re paying the price at pump for Ukraine

NEWS — Kamloops motorists began paying the price for turmoil in the Ukraine Wednesday, with a litre of regular rocketing from $1.20.9 to $1.33.9 by the end of day.

Late Wednesday only Costco and one Petro-Can station stuck fast at the lower price that had been common for the past week, while others edged up into the high one-twenties and most were well past one-30 by the stroke of midnight.

BCGasPrices.com showed more than half the stations on its list at the top price, a hike of 13 cents a litre in just a day.

The tomorrowsgaspricestoday.com site predicted prices would remain at $1.33.9 today, 12 cents a litre more expensive than for the same date last year.

“It cannot be explained by crude or currency differentials alone,” stated the site. “Market concentration costs consumers dearly.”

If it’s any consolation, prices were almost identical in both Vernon and Kelowna.

Experts say the crisis in Ukraine is at least partly to blame for the spike.

Andre Gerolymatis, a history professor at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, told CBC News that Russia’s incursion into Crimea could be putting pressure on prices.

“One reason, of course, is that 40 per cent of Europe’s gas and oil comes from Russia, and it comes through the Ukraine. So there’s the potential that this could be disrupted, and that means that the Europeans would have to go elsewhere for gas, and that would drive the prices up.”

Gerolymatis said it’s not unusual for gas prices to be affected by global events.

“There’s always a bump in gas prices when there’s a world crisis.”

Jason Toews, co-founder of GasBuddy.com, told the Vancouver Province that unrest in the Ukraine happens to come as we’re nearing summer season increases.

Vacations result in the consumption of more gas, and higher prices are sure to follow.

“This Ukranian situation is coming at a bad time of year when gas prices typically rise,” Toews said. “When there is uncertainty we see the price reflected in the price of crude oil and at the pump.”