Another big jump in gas prices

Pump prices have hit record highs in both Canada and the U.S., surveys say.(Paul Sakuma/Associated Press)

Pump prices are at another record high in Canada, with a litre of gasoline surging to an average of more than $1.32, according to the latest national survey.

The average price for regular gas gained 5.5 cents from last week's survey to an average of $1.326, Calgary-based MJ Ervin said in its weekly pump price survey.

That shatters the previous record of $1.289 set two weeks ago.

Crude oil futures set an all-time high of $135 US a barrel in New York trading last week. But they have since eased back. The July futures contract settled at $128.75 US on Tuesday, down $3.44 US.

In the latest pump price survey, gasoline was cheapest in Alberta, Manitoba and southern Ontario. It was most expensive in Newfoundland and Labrador and in Montreal — where the average price surged 14.7 cents in the past week to more than $1.43 a litre.

A separate pump price survey also showed average gas prices above $1.30 a litre in Canada. The average price nationally was $1.3176 a litre according to GasBuddy.com, a website that monitors North American pump prices.

Oil prices have doubled in the past year as speculators have poured billions into commodities, betting that they will serve as a better hedge against inflation and a weak U.S. dollar.

Gas prices still a bargain?

But pump prices in Canada have increased by only 15 per cent in the same period, leaving some analysts to suggest that Canadians are still getting a bargain at the pumps.

"Consumers here should be paying a much higher price for gasoline given the doubling of oil prices that we've seen," Delta One analyst Peter Linder told CBC News.

Gas prices in the U.S. also hit a record high Tuesday, edging close to $3.94 US per U.S. gallon.

Prices in Europe — already well above those in North America — have soared to record highs as well.

In London, hundreds of truck drivers snarled traffic in the British capital on Tuesday by staging a fuel price protest.

Slow Start to a Light Data Week in Canada

Take 5 pennies off the gas pump, taxpayers federation urges Ottawa

TSX drops 236 points as resources and financials falter

TSX-listed stocks in for big profit jump this year: CIBC