Pain at the pump: Gas spikes to $1.70 a litre across London

Gas prices spiked overnight to almost $1.73 cents per litre in London amid turmoil in the Middle East.

Gas stations across London were above $1.70 a litre on Thursday - and there doesn’t appear to be any indication they’ll drop in the short term.

Gas had dipped to approximately $1.40 a litre at the end of the last year.

Since the U.S. and Israel launched their military assault on Iran, prices have risen steadily, especially once Iranian forces brought a major oil-shipping channel to a standstill.

According to industry experts, where the price goes from here, will depend on what happens in the Middle East.

Speaking to CP24, gas analyst Dan McTeague says prices will likely jump approximately 10 cents a litre once summer-grade blends of gasoline hit the pumps, which he anticipates will happen sometime mid-April.

The price of oil surged when the Strait of Hormuz, the channel where one-fifth of the world’s oil travels through, effectively closed. The cost of Brent crude, considered the international benchmark for oil, has now gone up by nearly 50 per cent since the start of the war.

McTeague says if the conflict comes to an end, the cost of oil would swiftly plummet, potentially to $30 a barrel in Canada, providing near-immediate relief at the pumps.

With files from CTV News Toronto’s Alex Arsenych