Already the lowest in the province, the price of gas in Prince George is set to drop even further according to a market watcher.
Dan McTeague, an analyst at Gasbuddy.com, is basing his prediction on the further decline at the wholesale level across Western Canada as refineries continue to produce.
"We're looking at some pretty substantial down pressures on gasoline prices which will translate into even lower prices at the pumps, I would say starting tomorrow but more than likely by Friday " McTeague said on Wednesday morning.
"Prince George is probably one of the most competitive markets in all of B.C. so I would reckon that those prices are due for at least a three to four cent a litre adjustment in the next 48 to 72 hours, if not before."
As of Wednesday morning, Costco remained the best bargain in the city at 84.9 cents per litre of regular while others were charging 89.4 to 89.9 cents according to the Gasbuddy website.
The average for the province was 104.7 cents.
As recently as Dec. 18, regular had been going for 99.4 cents in the city. By Jan. 2, it had leveled off at about 95.0 and stayed there for four days.
But then the drop began.
McTeague credits Prince George's location along the route of a pipeline from Edmonton and Costco's apparent loss leader strategy - where a store takes a loss on one product to draw customers into a store in the hopes they will buy more profitable items - for turning the city into a deal for drivers.
"The retail margins are substantially less," McTeague said and added those margins in Prince George are hovering in the six to seven cents per litre area whereas they're an "extremely high" 15 to 17 cents in Kelowna.
He also said the local Husky refinery has been a help.
"The small facility you have there, at 12,000 barrels it's not a lot but it is enough to make a difference...what it does do is create the prospect of supply in the area," McTeague said.
He also noted the current price was about the same as it was last year. By Jan. 28, 2015, regular had bottomed out at 86.5 cents before beginning a fairly steady climb to a peak for the year of 127.4 by Aug. 16, 2015, according to Gasbuddy.com.
