Gas prices leap 8 cents in Winnipeg

A long weekend is coming and gas prices have soared.

The price at the pump in Winnipeg has climbed eight cents at most stations in Winnipeg, going froman average of 99.5 cents per litre on Tuesday to 107.9 on Wednesday.

"Driving just got a lot more expensive,"saidDan McTeague, a senior analyst withGasBuddy.com.

While a long weekend is often viewed by many as an excuse for gas stations to hike their prices, that anger is somewhat misplaced, said McTeague.

It actually has more to do with the weak dollar and federal law, he said. If the Canadian dollar were on par with the U.S. dollar, we'd only be seeing a jump of three or four cents, he said.

"The value of the Canadian dollar has a lot to do with the price we pay for all of our commodities, all of our energy products."

Summer gas is more expensive

But what might surprise some people is that refineriesare federally mandated to change the composition of gas from mid-April to mid-Septemberwith additives thatstabilize itunder higher temperatures, McTeague said.

"With warmer weather, gasoline can become volatile. It can either evaporate into the environment orcreate vapour lock in your engine emission systems," he said.

"Summer blends are more expensive," and they're needed even more with demand fromnewer vehicles with more efficient engines, he said.

McTeagueexpects the prices to get higher through the summer because demand grows as people travel more and Canada justdoesn't have enough refinery capacity to influence North American gasoline markets.

"Demand in the United States is going up dramatically. The economy is back on its feet, Americans are drivingfurther."

It looks like prices will be an average of 15-20 cents a litre higher insummer 2017 than in summer 2016, he said.

There are still deals out there, however. The top 10 lowest prices in Winnipeg rangedfrom 97.8 to 99.5 on Wednesday morning, according to the Manitoba Gas Prices list provided byGasBuddy.

Just for the record, on this day last yearprices were around 86 cents per litre.