The promised plunge in gas prices has hit the Nickel City. Gas prices, particularly outside the core of the city, fell by more than 10 cents to prices not seen in months.
The last time gasoline prices in Greater Sudbury were below $2 a litre was back at the beginning of May.
OntarioGasPrices.com reports the lowest price in the city this morning is 192.9 a litre at the Circle K on Highway 144 in Chelmsford. In the core of the city, the Canadian Tire station on Barrydowne Road in New Sudbury has the lowest price this morning at 196.6.
Byrnes on Notre Dame St. in Azilda has set its price at 195.9 a litre. The Canadian Tire, UPI and Esso stations in Chelmsford are all selling fuel in the range of 198 a litre.
On July 1, Ontario government legislation passed in the spring took effect, lowering the gas tax by 5.7 cents per litre and the fuel tax, which covers diesel, by 5.3 cents per litre for six months, until Dec. 31.
The cost of lowering the tax is in the range of $645 million.
Roger McKnight, chief petroleum analyst with En-Pro International, told The Canadian Press the price drop on July 1 was directly related to the Ontario gas tax cut, but also to a decline in wholesale prices attributable, he said, to an increase in the U.S. inventory and a slowdown in the demand for gas, diesel, and jet fuel south of the border.
The Canadian Press also reported that Premier Doug Ford has said he would consider extending the gas tax cut if inflation remains high. Combining that tax cut with the Ford government’s decision to eliminate licence plate fees and Ontario households are saving around $465 this year.
Canadians can also expect other government relief when they begin receiving the first instalments of of the federal carbon-price rebate cheques this month, too. The payments are made quarterly, with the first cheques this year coming as a double payment for two quarters in July, with further payments in September and January 2023.
-- With files from Lucas Casaletto of CityNews and The Canadian Press
