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Bad news, Australian motorists.
The average price for unleaded petrol just hit the highest level in three years, coinciding with the start of school holidays for many Australian families.
According to Commsec, citing data from the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the national average price jumped 7.0 cents last week to 143.2 cents a litre, driven by a surge in metropolitan prices which soared by 9.8 cents to 144.6 cents per litre.
National average retail prices are calculated as the weighted average of each State and Territory’s metropolitan and non-metropolitan retail petrol prices, with the weights based on the number of registered petrol vehicles in each of these regions, Commsec says.
Price in Sydney and Melbourne rose by 9.1 cents and 11.3 cents respectively to 114 cents and 143.8 cents per litre. The increase was even larger for motorists in Brisbane and Adelaide where the average price jumped 14.6 cents and 13.8 cents respectively to 148.7 cents and 147.3 cents over the week.
Smaller increases were recorded across the remaining capitals with gains of 2.3 cents, 2.1 cents, 1.6 cents and 0.1 seen in Canberra, Darwin, Hobart and Perth.
For those living in regional areas, prices rose by 2.6 cents to 140.5 cents per litre.
While higher gasoline prices in Singapore contributed to the increase, lifting 1.4% to $98.05 a barrel in Australian dollar terms over the week, it’s clear that many petrol retailers are still raking in the cash during this high demand period.
According to Commsec, the average wholesale unleaded petrol price actually fell last week, decreasing by 0.5 cents to 124.2 cents a litre.
Good news for petrol retailers but not so for families and other retailers ahead of the busy festive season.
