Ottawa motorists woke up to a shock at the gas pumps.
Prices jumped 10 cents/litre at several Ottawa gas stations overnight. Stations in Kanata, Gloucester and Nepean are selling gas at $1.13.9 a litre this morning.
Gas analyst Dan McTeague tells CTV Morning Live that retailers have restored retail margins by 10 cents a litre at Ottawa stations this morning.
McTeague says retail operators in Ottawa and Montreal were operating over the weekend with margins at zero. He suggested retailers could use the wholesale price increase as an excuse to raise prices to boost profit margins.
Gasoline prices are expected to rise in Ottawa and the rest of Ontario this week after widespread flooding from Hurricane Harvey forced refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast to shut down. At least 10 Texas refineries have shut down, knocking out more than 15 per cent of the American refining capacity.
McTeague says prices will likely jump 2 cents a litre on Wednesday to an average of $1.14.9 a litre in Ottawa.