Price of gas hits a high not seen since September 2008

The price at the Prince George pump struck a 31-month high when the cost of regular unleaded took a five-cent jump to 134.9 cents a litre heading into the Easter long weekend.

What's more, the signs indicate it's going to rise further over the next weeks and months.

Crude oil prices rose on Thursday, The Associated Press reported, with benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude adding 84 cents to settle at US$112.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange while in London, Brent crude rose 14 cents to settle at US$123.99 per barrel.

Energy traders keep looking for signs that demand for oil and gas will increase as the global economic recovery continues. Analysts at Barclays Capital think they need not look far.

"We continue to believe that the top for crude oil prices this year is not yet in," they wrote in a note to investors. "Oil demand indications remain very strong ... Chinese demand is still increasing at a rate faster than one million barrels per day."

The last time regular cost so much locally was during summer 2008 when the price peaked at 145.8 in mid July and at 146.9 for a week in September before dropping down to 76.9 cents just a few months later.

Perhaps ominously, the reigning rate was 128.7 at about this time three years ago.

The increase meant Colinda Harraway had to pay in excess of $90 to fill the tank of her van on Friday.

"I think my kids and I are going to riding our bikes a lot this summer," she said.

It will also mean cutting back on the extras like the occasional meal out as the hike will translate into a $30-$40 per month because she'll still need to commute and pick up her youngest from daycare.

"But on the other hand, my sister lives in England and she kind of laughs when she complains about our gas prices," Harraway noted.

Even motorcyclists like Lorne and Gwen Ireland are feeling the pinch. Where it once cost $25 for a 300-kilometre trip as little as three years ago it's now up around $40 making vacations and extended trips on two wheels much less of a bargain.

They're hoping it will fall back after the long weekend, but aren't expecting it to drop by much.

"Don't they always put it up before a long weekend and afterwards bring it back down?" Lorne said. "It's not going to go down to 120 but if we're lucky, 129," Gwen added.

Carly Stohl was blunt in her response.

"It's going to be just to and from work for now," she said. "It sucks, it hits the pocketbook really hard."