HALIFAX -- There is some relief at the pumps for motorists in Nova Scotia, where gas prices dipped below $1 overnight.
The price of regular self-serve in the Halifax area dropped by 10.6 cents per litre to a new minimum price of 95.3 cents per litre.
Diesel is down by 10.3 cents in the Halifax area, bringing the new minimum price for self-serve to 91.7 cents per litre.
Gas prices have also dropped dramatically in New Brunswick, where regular self-serve is down by 10.3 cents, now sitting at a maximum price of $103.3.
Diesel is down by 8.3 cents, bringing the new maximum price to $110.9.
Gasoline and diesel prices dropped by 6.9 cents a litre on Prince Edward Island earlier this week.
Why are gas prices dropping?
The drop comes after Nova Scotia’s Utility and Review Board invoked the interrupter clause due to this week’s dramatic drop in world oil prices.
Normally, prices in Nova Scotia are set on Friday. However, the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board can use the interrupter clause when the market price for petroleum fluctuates by more than six cents per litre.
The last time the interrupter clause was used in Nova Scotia was in June 2019.
As for global oil prices, the coronavirus and a subsequent spat between two vital oil suppliers -- Saudi Arabia and Russia -- is having wide-ranging implications for consumers and oil companies.
Fewer people are travelling and transporting goods due to the coronavirus outbreak, sharply reducing the demand for fuel.
Crude oil prices sank to a four-year low on Monday after Russia refused to roll back production and Saudi Arabia responded by launching a crude price war by vowing to ramp up output.
The drop rattled already jittery markets that had been under pressure due to concerns about the economic impact of the spread of the novel coronavirus that began in China.
But oil recovered about one-third of Monday's loss on reports that Russia and Saudi Arabia may meet in hope of striking an agreement.
With files from the Canadian Press
