Adedokun Waliyu 
Diesel prices are expected to increase by 12 cents in the GTA at midnight as oil markets continue to respond to the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.
En-Pro’s Chief Petroleum Analyst Roger McKnight tells CityNews the increase is not isolated to the GTA.
“The changes at the wholesale level across the country effective today are about the same — the range being from 10.8 cents in the GTA to 11.6 in Vancouver,” he said.
“In my opinion in much the same way that West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the North American benchmark crude, tends to be priced at a margin to Brent, [which is] the global marker, North American diesel follows the Amsterdam/Rotterdam wholesale price movements.”
He adds that if the European price is higher than the North American price, then refiners in North America will export diesel to take advantage of the price differential.
“The Persian Gulf war and and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has reduced the supply of diesel throughout Europe, forcing prices to record levels,” he said.
“This is making export of diesel from the U.S. very financially attractive. If prices jump in the U.S. they jump here in tandem.”
The price of gas is also set to jump by 8 cents at midnight, after the brief reprieve of a Good Friday drop of 5 cents.
At $1.86 per litre, drivers will be paying the most they have at the pumps in about four years.
Oil prices started to climb following U.S. President Donald Trump’s speech on Wednesday in which he said U.S. forces will spend the next few weeks bombing Iran “back to the Stone Ages.”
Oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have largely stopped since the war began on Feb. 28 because Iran has threatened to attack any vessels trying to cross through the critical waterway in retaliation to U.S.-Israeli strikes.
