Record high gas price set as 2011 ends

It's not an achievement drivers are applauding, but Canada set a new record in 2011 for gasoline prices.

According to the weekly gasoline price report from the province, the 2011 average price from coast-to-coast was 124 cents a litre, the highest recorded average price ever. Besides being a new record, the price was a full 20.4 cents higher than the 2010 average.

And the Canadian diesel price at 124.7 cents, while not a record, was less than one cent lower than the record high 125.1 cents hit in 2008.

As for current prices, higher world crude oil and Northern American wholesale prices are being blamed for an average 4.3-cent price jump this month, ending a 10-month low.

For drivers in Sudbury, this translated into a price hike of about five cents a litre, according to the report, the highest jump among Ontario cities that saw prices rise. Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie actually saw prices drop by one cent and half a cent, respectively.

The Ontario average retail diesel price declined for the fourth straight week, by 0.3 cents to 127.3 cents, a two-month low. For 2011, the Ontario gasoline price averaged 124.1 cents, up 22.5 cents from 2010 and a record high, and the Ontario diesel price averaged 124.6 cents, up 25.3 cents and a record high.

Posted by Mark Gentili