The ACCC has urged consumers to “fight back” against petrol retailers’ record high margins, with Australian petrol prices reaching their highest levels since 2015.
The regulator reveals gross retail petrol margins – both quarterly and annual – are the highest ever recorded (since the ACCC began monitoring in 2002).
“Petrol retailers’ margins are the highest they have ever been and motorists are paying for it. Last quarter alone, average gross retail margins in the five largest cities were 14.2 cents per litre, an increase of 3.9 cents per litre from the previous quarter,” states ACCC Chairman, Rod Sims.
In the last quarter, The ACCC found the average price of petrol in most Australian capital cities climbed 12.6% per litre to 135.1 cents/per litre.
Mr Rod Sims encourages Australian motorists to “fight” back against high prices and “shop around”, affirming it will cause petrol retailers to become more competitive:
“Motorists can fight back against these high prices by using fuel price websites and apps to shop around. Consumers can save significantly by timing their purchases during the price cycle, which encourages retailers to be more competitive”
“Retail prices in the larger capital cities can vary by around 25 cents per litre to 30 cents per litre near the time that price cycles are increasing. The ACCC website has information on price cycles in the five largest cities and provides tips on when to buy petrol”.
Whilst high international crude prices have impacted Australian petrol prices during the quarter, the ACCC asserts a vast portion of the price hike stems from high gross retail margins.
“The ACCC accepts that some of the increase in gross retails margins has been due to increased costs; the information we have, however, indicates that this contribution does not explain the bulk of the increase”.
Of Australia’s five largest capital cities, Brisbane’s petrol price ranks the highest.
