Brianna Travers, 08 February 2016
MELBOURNE’S low petrol prices were short lived as prices at the pump sky rocketed back to $1.15 a litre over the weekend.
Motorists were delighted last week as unleaded petrol dropped to below $1 a litre for the first time in more than a year due to world oil prices falling to a 10-year low.
According to the RACV, fuel prices steadily decreased throughout January, but hiked up more than 10 cents a litre on Saturday.
The RACV reported the highest petrol price around Melbourne yesterday was as much as $1.34 a litre, but recommended motorists paid no more than $1.19 a litre at the pump.
Australia’s corporate watchdog monitors daily the average fuel price in all capital cities and 190 regional locations around Australia.
The ACCC said the retail price of petrol in Melbourne is currently increasing as part of the regular price cycle.
“Price policies are a concern to many consumers due to the large price increases that occur in a single day and across most retail sites, on a broadly regular basis,” an ACCC spokesman said.
“Petrol prices are currently increasing in Melbourne as part of the regular price cycle,” he said.
Abigail Koch, Spokesperson from ComparetheMarket.com.au said Melburnians had been lucky for a while.
“Unfortunately prices have shot up in the last few days, simply driven by competition,” she said.
“Petrol retailers look at what the competition is doing.
“Melbourne has some of the most sporadic petrol cycles in Australia, which makes it incredibly hard for motorists to predict when to fill up.
“Motorists shouldn’t wait for the petrol light to come on, instead start to look at prices when your tank is about a third full.”
Ways to reduce fuel consumption include accelerating as gently as possible, correctly inflating tyres and removing any unnecessary vehicle weight.
Extracted in full from the Herald Sun.
