Two weeks ago, $20 worth of gas got Delenia Phillips twice as far in her late model Ford.
The Elko resident says that she was shocked when she pulled up to the gas pumps the other day, to see prices had risen nearly 20 cents per litre.
“It makes life difficult for everybody,” she said. “It really adds to the price of everything.”
She says that when she drove from Newgate to Fernie the other day, it cost nearly $10 more for the trip than usual. In a rural area, she says the rising price of gas makes more even greater costs, because there are few choices between gas stations, and there are few options other than driving.
Over the past few weeks gas prices have risen in B.C. drastically due to the external factors affecting global oil production.
Currently, B.C. has the highest gas prices in the country, with Manitoba holding the lowest.
In early September analysts said that the spike in prices in the states was due to refineries being damaged by Hurricane Harvey.
The recent spike affecting Canadian prices in November is part in parcel with wholesale gas prices rising, according to Dan McTeague, an analyst with GasBuddy.
He says that the prices are rising due to smaller factors, like a leak found in the Exporter Pipeline which delivers fuel across the U.S.
The main factor, he says is that the U.S. economy is booming right now and the demand for fuel is ever-increasing, eliminating the supply glut that previously kept prices hovering at the $1.00 per litre mark.
As for Phillips, she says the prices won’t keep her from making trips back and forth to town, but it will definitely affect how much gas she’ll be putting in her tank at a time.