Gas prices are dropping. You can thank the ’winter blend’ for that

The average price of gas dropped overnight, thanks to a switch to the 'winter blend.'

Photo: The Canadian Press / Christinne Muschi

Abby Hughes (new window) · CBC News

Drivers rejoice: gas prices in Canada are dropping, thanks to a yearly switch.

Gas prices ticked up earlier this week, reaching a national average of 194.5 cents per litre yesterday according to affordableenergy.ca (new window), but dropped by about eight cents overnight to 186.9 cents per litre as of Friday.

The cost of gas usually goes up in the summer and comes down in the fall because of a mid-September switchover from summer-blend gasoline to a winter blend, says Dan McTeague, the president of Canadians for Affordable Energy.

The different mix of fuel is used to prevent fuel-line freezing and make engines run better in the cold. (new window)

McTeague forecasts the cost of gas could drop by another few cents over the weekend before settling.

But that's probably as good as it's going to get unless someone … can wave a magic wand and get a lot more oil, diesel, jet fuel and gasoline into global markets, McTeague told CBC News Network.

WATCH | Gas prices drop 8 to 10 cents in some Canadian cities:

Prices for gasoline fell about eight cents per litre overnight, with some cities seeing the price for a litre fall 20 cents. It's a reversal of the overall trend of higher prices for fuel since the start of the U.S. war in Iran.

Fighting in the Middle East has all but shuttered the Strait of Hormuz and compromised the Bab al-Mandeb Strait (new window), disrupting the flow of oil to the rest of the world. Fewer barrels flowing from the region has sent the price of oil way up: the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil soared past the $100-per-barrel U.S. benchmark last week and is now hovering around $104 US.

But diesel, on the other hand, is soaring. The average cost for a litre of diesel across Canada sat at $2.751 as of Thursday, according to Natural Resources Canada (new window), though certain cities like Calgary hovered lower, at $2.513. Vancouver topped the three-dollar mark, with a litre of diesel costing drivers $3.055.

That's bad news even for those who don't drive, according to experts. Trucks that deliver consumer items to stores — including your groceries — as well as tractors that harvest food all tend to run on diesel.

It could mean consumers see higher sticker prices, because companies will have no choice but to pass on the higher cost of fuel to consumers, said Tej Dulat, director of government and public affairs with the Canada Truck Operators Association.

You're going to see that impact coming on the grocery prices, Dulat told CBC News last week. (new window)