If you haven't filled up your tank yet, now is a good a time as any, because gas prices have dropped to the lowest level in years in Calgary, the solitary upside of the depressed economy.
Prices have been dropping steadily throughout the month, and have finally dipped below 70 cents a litre, a level which hasn't been seen since late 2008.
Drivers filling up at Costco can get 66.9 cents per litre, while many others are seeing prices just over that at 71.4 cents per litre.
The average price for a litre of gas in Calgary is about 76 cents.
"We haven't seen that price breached since 2008-2009, so that's eight years," said Dan McTeague, senior petroleum analyst with GasBuddy.com. "That is quite a long time ago and it happened when we say that brief drop in the value of crude and gasoline futures in around the time of the beginning of the global recession."
Drivers, for the most part, are happy about the cheap gas. "I think it's actually amazing. I mean, gas prices have been over a dollar for so long and it actually makes you want to go driving somewhere, to be honest."
Others, while not complaining, are still leery about the bigger picture. "It's great that gas is cheaper because its an everyday cost, but it also shows how bad the oil industry is and, since we are in Alberta, that is not a good sign."
The price per barrel of oil has been suffering under the weight of an oil surplus on the global market. It sits at about $28 US per barrel.
