VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Gas prices in Metro Vancouver have hiked up around 20 cents over the past month after sinking below a loonie a litre in mid-January, and a company which monitors Canadian prices daily predicts more price increases could come.

“It would only have been sustainable if crude prices stayed down to their levels,” says Michael Ervin with MJ Ervin & Associates. “Even at that, we would normally see seasonable upswings in fuel prices.”

But crude prices have recovered, and that’s the prime cause of this recent hike, according to Ervin.

“Equally important this time of the year, we’re beginning to see a run-up in wholesale gasoline prices, which reflects that commodity, separate from crude oil,” explains Ervin. “It really is very fundamental to what the underlying costs are for dealers.”

With price increases usually part of the equation ahead of summer, Ervin adds there could be more increases in the months to come.