Gas prices on P.E.I. will now be allowed to change weekly rather than every two weeks.

The Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission usually permits dealers to change prices on gas, diesel and furnace oil on the first and 15th of each month.

But in a written release Tuesday, the commission said for the next two months it will move to weekly pricing due to "recent price volatility in petroleum products caused by market fluctuations beyond normal."

The change will begin 12:01 a.m. next Friday, Aug. 9, and is an effort to avoid unscheduled price changes and provide more certainty to both consumers and retailers, the release said.

Propane prices will be set every second Friday, starting Aug. 16.

"The Commission expects that moving to weekly pricing will provide a price to consumers and the industry that more accurately reflects the market price of the product," it said.

"In the past year, commodity prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange have experienced wide fluctuations causing large swings in the wholesale price of petroleum in Atlantic Canada."

The move puts P.E.I. regulation in line with that in the other Atlantic provinces.

IRAC points out that so far in 2019, the price of gas has fluctuated from a low of 99.1 cents per litre in January to a high of 134.6 in April.

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