Melbourne diesel selling above $3.10, independents pushed to $3 a litre unleaded
At some service stations in the capital, where independent retailers sell unleaded petrol for $3 a liter, the price of diesel exceeded $3.10.
On Saturday, fuel trackers showed at least one independent service station in Melbourne’s northern suburbs was selling unleaded 91 for 299.9 cents a litre. Even closer to the city, less than 10km from the CBD, regular diesel is selling for 314.9 cents per liter at a major retailer.
In NSW on Saturday, U91 was selling for an average of 238.1 cents and regular diesel was selling for an average of 282.2 cents across the state.
In towns like Orange, diesel goes for 302.9c. While independent fuel retailers remain under pressure due to supply contracts from major players, an independent dealer in Sydney’s North Strathfield sold 299.9 billion liters of diesel on Saturday.
This weekend’s prices came following analysis by GlobalPetrolPrices; This analysis showed that only Laos and Nigeria have seen unleaded prices rise more than Australia since the start of the war in Iran.
Queensland diesel and unleaded prices hit new record levels this week, according to the RACQ.
The most expensive fuel in the Sunshine State was in K’gari; unleaded and diesel were selling for $3.60.
Speaking on Friday, Deputy Competition Minister Andrew Leigh said the competition watchdog had taken an unusual stance by announcing it was investigating major fuel retailers.
“Normally the competition watchdog would not announce an enforcement investigation but in this case they said they did,” Mr Leigh said.
“This is about Ampol, BP, Mobil and Viva Energy, and it’s about diesel availability to independent wholesalers and distributors serving regional and rural Australia. I think it shows very clearly that we have a strong competition enforcer,” he said.
Following a national cabinet meeting attended by Anthony Albanese, Premiers and Prime Ministers on Thursday, the federal government appointed a fuel tsar to oversee the response to price rises and supply chain disruptions.
“Australia is well prepared, our fuel supplies are secure now, but I want us to be over-prepared,” the Prime Minister said on Thursday.
“We are doing everything we can to secure our fuel supply and get it to where it is needed.”
