Gas prices in Ontario set to soar to two-month high Thursday

Drivers should fill up their tanks today as gas prices in Ontario are forecast to rise in the next few days, with one industry analyst warning that more hikes could be coming.

Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy, told CP24 Tuesday morning that he is anticipating the price of a litre of gasoline in Ontario will rise by another six cents per litre on Thursday. 

That is on top of the expected 10-cent increase just after midnight on Wednesday, bringing the average gas price to 162.9 cents a litre. McTeague previously noted that it is one of the highest one-day hikes in the province in the last decade.

It will also bring a litre of gasoline to its highest price since Aug. 4.

"So if you see $1.52.9 here in the GTA or Ottawa, or anywhere across most of southern Ontario, you might want to fill up today. I don't see this getting better," McTeague said.

"And it's really being driven by global circumstances, in particular, OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) that's likely to cut oil production…to get oil prices back up to where they believe it should be, which is $90 a barrel versus $76 (or) $77."

The cut would further squeeze the already tight oil supply, which is a concern as McTeague noted that demand continues to be strong.

"And I think many analysts believe -- certainly the markets are suggesting that there should have been demand destruction by now…I think they're all being proven significantly wrong," McTeague said.

"We're gonna start to see prices go up not just for diesel but also for gasoline."