According to data from the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the national average price of unleaded petrol rose by 5.7 cents last week to six-week highs of 131.8 cents a litre.
Falling pump prices: The average price of unleaded petrol has fallen to 13-month lows in Canberra and Hobart and 15-month lows in Darwin according to Motor Mouth.
What does it all mean?
Aussie motorists have enjoyed lower petrol prices for most of the summer holidays. But discounting cycles have now ended in southern and eastern capital cities. Average unleaded petrol prices are now closer to $1.30 a litre, up by around 10 cents from recent 16-month lows seen in mid-January. Crude oil prices have lifted by 12-15 per cent so far in January as OPEC and its allies have curbed output.
Smaller capital cities, such as Canberra, Darwin and Hobart don’t benefit from regular discounting cycles. The less competitive fuel markets have seen unleaded pump prices remain stuck at around $1.50-$1.60 a litre for most of 2018. However, there is some good news for motorists at last. Pump prices in all three cities have fallen over the past week. In fact, unleaded petrol is the cheapest in 13 months in Hobart and Canberra at $1.43 a litre and at 15-month lows of $1.28 a litre in the Top End.
What do the figures show?
According to data from the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the national average price of unleaded petrol rose by 5.7 cents last week to six-week highs of 131.8 cents a litre.
The metropolitan petrol price rose by 7.8 cents to 132.3 cents per litre, and the regional price rose by 1.7 cents to 130.9 cents per litre.
Average unleaded petrol prices across states and territories over the past week were: Sydney (up by 12.6 cents to 125.9 c/l), Melbourne (up by 9.7 cents to 135.8 c/l), Brisbane (up by 4.4 cents to 134.7 c/l), Adelaide (up by 9.2 cents to 135.6 c/l), Perth (up by 1.4 cents to 128.2 c/l), Darwin (down by 0.6 cents to 128.5 c/l), Canberra (down by 0.5 cents to 143.3 c/l) and Hobart (down by 2.2 cents to 143.2 c/l).
Today, the national average wholesale (terminal gate) unleaded petrol price stands at 117.4 cents a litre, up by 0.4 cents over the week. The terminal gate diesel price stands at 129.4 cents a litre, up by 1.0 cent over the past week.
The national average diesel petrol price rose by 0.9 cents to 142.2 cents a litre over the week. The metropolitan price rose by 1.3 cents to 140.8 cents a litre with the regional price up by 0.6 cents to 143.4 cents a litre.
Last week, the key Singapore gasoline price fell by US$1.40 or 2.2 per cent to US$61.25 a barrel. In Australian dollar terms, the Singapore gasoline price fell by 77 cents or 0.9 per cent last week to $86.33 a barrel or 54.29 cents a litre.
MotorMouth records the following average retail prices for capital cities today: Sydney 135.9c; Melbourne 132.0c; Brisbane 130.7c; Adelaide 126.3c; Perth 138.5c; Canberra 143.1c; Darwin 128.4c; Hobart 142.9c. National Australia Bank Business Survey
