Spring gas pain

The peak summer driving season doesn’t really start until the Victoria Day long weekend.

But with that long weekend one month away — prices are already creeping up at the pumps — and drivers’s aren’t impressed.

Right now, the price of gas in Hamilton and Oakville is a dollar-39.9. This is the time of year when refineries switch from producing heating fuel to gasoline — so a small spike in the price is expected. But the co-founder of the website GasBuddy.com says the national average has never been this high at this time of year. Last year, the price was at a dollar-23.

We checked about a half dozen locations and the lowest price we could find is in St. Catharines on Ontario Street when the price is a dollar-34 which seems almost like a bargin compared to other parts of the province.

We spoke with some driver who we filling up today at a dollar 40 this afternoon.

“Is crazy. I drive in from the west and I see 132 point something so I go more over there, over there and I come in and I saw 140. Hello!!! What is going on in here? So, it’s crazy.”

“I think they’re extremely way too high. And from what I’m understanding by going online, they’re supposed to go up even more. I have to work full time and I have four kids. I have to drive.”

“I was shocked. Friday, it was a buck 40, then it went down to a buck 31 — then it went back up again. I just don’t understand why.”

The COO at energy consultant Enpro says there are many factors contributing to the price at the pumps right now. For example, the loonie drop against the American dollar plays a pretty important factor as energy products are bought and sold in U.S. Currency as well as the extreme weather we had recently. That led to a reduction in inventories.