Canadians will continue to pay less at the pumps as the coronavirus spreads, according to one petroleum analyst.

“There’s 16 factors that go into the price of a litre of gasoline – you can pretty well throw them all out the window now,” Roger McKnight, ​chief petroleum analyst at En-Pro International, told BNN Bloomberg Friday.

McKnight said factors such as inventory, supply and demand, and pipeline problems, all contribute to how much consumers pay at the pumps

“Those are all just put aside by everybody right now and they’re just looking at this coronavirus’s effect on demand for crude oil and its refined derivatives,” he said.

“All the demand side for crude oil is going in the tank, as are prices for their refined derivatives: gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. ”   

Prices in southern Ontario have already fallen by 10 cents per litre in the last seven days, according to McKnight, which he says is “astronomical.” He expects prices in all of the country’s major cities including Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, and Calgary to decline further beginning Saturday.

“Most of it is speculation – a what-if, or how far is this thing going to go? We’re kind of looking at the dark side of the moon,” McKnight said.

“I can only see it going down further,” he added. “Nothing’s going to stop this until the growth curve of this virus flattens out.”