Gas prices surge to $1.51 in Montreal

Pump prices on Monday crossed the $1.50 threshold, withgas stations in Montreal charging drivers as much as $1.51 per litre.

The national average reached $1.34 a litre, according to the tracking site gasbuddy.com, while prices in Vancouver hovered at $1.45.

In theUnited States,the national average price of a gallon of regular gasoline reached a record $4.023 US.

A report issued in January by CIBC World Markets warned that a growing gap between oil supply and demand would drive gasoline prices in Canada to $1.50 a litre. The bank cited increasing demand in developing countries, depletion in existing oilfields and delays in putting new fields into production.

In recent weeks, Canadian airlines also announced fuel surcharge hikes, citing the rising cost of fuel. Air Canada raised its round-trip ticket prices by $40 for short-haul flights and $80 for flights of more than 1,601.6 kilometres.

Calgary-based airline WestJet is raising its round-tripticket prices by $20 for short-haul flights and $45 for long-haul flights.