Oil prices, gasoline costs could double

According to Jeff Rubin, chief economist with CIBC World Markets Inc, crude prices – now trading at above $116 (U.S.) a barrel – could go up to average $150 by 2010, and more than $200 by 2012. That would translate into pump prices of $7 (U.S.) per gallon in the United States, and $2.25 per litre in Canada, double the current levels. 

He said the sharply higher oil prices will prove devastating for the North America’s industrial base, particularly the auto industry. But Canadians will benefit from the spinoffs, in terms of jobs, tax revenues and procurement, from the country’s oil-rich provinces.