Nova Scotia gas prices jumped 3.7 cents overnight

Gas prices are expected to headinto the $1.30 per litre range in Nova Scotia and a gas analyst expects people to continue paying more through the summer months.

According to CBC's gas guru, Robert Jones, the price at the pump is going to take a big jump overnight. He expects the price to rise about six cents per litre. His prediction for diesel is an increase of a couple of cents.

On Thursday, GasBuddy.com lists the price of regular gas at most stationsin Halifax as 125.4 cents per litre.

Dan McTeague, a senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy.com, predicts "the new normal" between Easter and the long weekend in May will be $1.40 to $1.45 per litre across Eastern Canada.

He said three cents of this week's increase has to do with the market, the other half relates to anticipation of the annual switch to summer gas on April 15.

"Let's chalk that up to jumping the gun," he said.

The switch to the summer product usually means prices rises between threeand fivecents a litre, according to McTeague. He said the wholesale cost of summer gasoline is higher than winter gasoline and the quality is different. It has additives that cost more than the ones used in the winter.

"It's not just demand, it's the kind of gas we're using that does dictate and drive up prices," McTeague said.

"It is really important to emphasize that it's more expensive for refineries to produce gasoline that won't be volatile or act in a way that evaporates when it's subject to higher pressure and higher temperatures."

Worldwide factors at play

Beyond the production costs though, he said external factors such as higher oil prices and the demand for gasoline across North America play a role. Internationally, problems in Libya andVenezuela are contributing to "a significant draw down in the global supply of oil" and leading a "massive increase" in the cost of a barrel, he said.

"That, with a weak Canadian dollar, we price all of our fuel in U.S. dollar terms, explains why we've seen week over week increases of three and four cents a litre," he said.