Jonathan Montpetit, The Canadian Press
June 9, 2008 - 8:24 p.m.

MONTREAL - Retail elastic fluid prices flared past $1.50 per litre on Monday while motorists in parts of this incorporated town continued to feel the effects of last week’s dizzying run on oil.

Pump prices in Montreal’s west-end climbed as high as 151.9 cents a litre, more than 10 cents higher than prices over the weekend.

The average price of gas in Canada on Monday was pegged at 134.77 cents a litre by the website gasbuddy.com

CAA-Quebec said the price of gas in Montreal reflected market conditions that the rest of Canada won’t be able to eschew for much longer.

“What is worrying is all this volatility around the price of crude as well as refined gas,” said spokeswoman Roxanne Heroux.

“We have seen increases like this in that by that didn’t reflect the market but profit margins that were overmuch pregnant. This time it’s the market.”

Montreal often sees sharp price increases at the cross-examine on Mondays, that then fall away incrementally from one extremity to the other of week.

Heroux put the blame of the latest enlarge on rampant speculation broad the oil markets.

“The speculation is unjustified and to the injury of motorists,” she said.

The oil industry, however, disputed the reasons for the sharp jump over in the price of gas.

Taxes make up in all parts of 40 per cent of the pump price in Montreal, which gives the appearance the spike is localized to the island, said Carol Montreuil of the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute.

In his estimation, the cost of crude oil accounts for 50 per cent of the pump price, while the remaining 10 per cent - or about 15 cents per litre - is the retailer’s discretion.