According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the national average Australian price of unleaded petrol fell by 0.9 cents to 119.1 cents a litre in the past week – a 10-month low. But Asian marker prices have lifted. In Australian dollar terms the Singapore gasoline price has lifted to a 9-week high, up 4 cents a litre on the mid-June lows.
The tug-o-war continues on global oil markets. OPEC oil producers are trimming production in an attempt to support oil prices. But US oil producers continue to lift output. At the same time, investors, analysts, buyers and sellers are weighing up the current and future strength of global oil demand. At present, crude oil prices are hugging US$50 a barrel which appears the sweet spot for suppliers and end-users of crude oil and oil products.
Motorists are still enjoying cheap fuel with the national average petrol price falling to fresh 10-month lows in the latest week. But the Singapore gasoline price has lifted for three straight weeks while the Australian wholesale petrol price (terminal gate price) has also lifted from recent lows. To date, prices have only risen modestly so the main issue for motorists is watching the discounting cycles that exist in major capital cities. The average motorist is saving around $14 a month on filling up the car with petrol when compared with mid June.
According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the national average Australian price of unleaded petrol fell by 0.9 cents to a 10-month low of 119.1 cents a litre in the past week. The metropolitan petrol price fell by 0.9 cents to 116.9 cents, while the regional price fell by 0.8 cents to 123.7 cents per litre.
The national average Australian price of diesel petrol was down 0.2 cents to 125.8 cents per litre in the week to August 6. The metropolitan price was down 0.4 cents to 125.5c/l, while the regional price fell by 0.1 cents to 126c/l.
Today, the national average wholesale (terminal gate) unleaded petrol price stands at 111.8 cents a litre, up by 2.4 cents a litre over the week. The terminal gate diesel price stands at 111.1 c/l, up by 2.5 cents over the week.
Weekly figures on petrol prices are compiled by ORIMA Research on behalf of the Australian Institute of Petroleum (AIP). National average retail prices are calculated as the weighted average of each State/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. AIP data for retail petrol prices is based on available market data supplied by MotorMouth.
Lower petrol prices are supporting consumer confidence and retail spending. Similarly the stronger job market (as evidenced by higher job advertisements) is also supporting retail spending. The issue to watch is the stronger Aussie dollar that could serve to soften business conditions. A higher Aussie dollar could also cause more people to buy goods online from overseas suppliers and retailers.
Extracted from the CommSec economic insights report.
