Petrol prices are now more expensive in Hobart than in any other Australian capital, despite the city previously enjoying among the cheapest unleaded fuel before war in the Middle East broke out.
There doesn’t appear to be any reprieve in sight either, as current wholesale prices suggest the pain may yet worsen in coming weeks.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s latest weekly fuel price monitoring report shows that the average retail petrol price in Hobart was $2.47 per litre on October 7, up 4.2c over the week and overtaking Canberra and Darwin to become the dearest of all capitals.
At the same time, the daily average price across the five largest cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth was $2.39 per litre, a weekly increase of 3c.
A week before conflict escalated between Iran, the United States, and Israel back in February, Hobart motorists paid an average of $1.65 per litre, which was cheaper than all capitals except Adelaide and Perth.
Since peak price pain was felt about March 31 – a day before the Australian government temporarily cut the fuel excise on petrol and diesel by 32 cents per litre – Hobart petrol prices have dropped by only 9.7c.
Price pressures at the bowser began to skyrocket due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz shipping route in late February.
RACT chief strategy officer Barb McGregor said the organisation was “increasingly concerned” about the impact high fuel prices were having on Tasmanians.
She said there were a number of things drivers could do to help reduce their costs, noting that smoother acceleration and braking, using cruise control on open roads, keeping tyres at their recommended pressure, and removing unnecessary weight from your vehicle could improve fuel economy by about 15 per cent.
“At $2.50 a litre, that improvement is equivalent to paying around $2.13 a litre in terms of the fuel you use,” Ms McGregor said.
Hobartians are being slugged about 82 cents more per litre for unleaded fuel now than they were a week before the war started, the largest increase of all capital cities.
Those with diesel vehicles pay the third-highest prices ($2.86 per litre) compared to their counterparts in other capitals, a rise of about $1.85 since February but down 31.3c since the worst of the price shock.
Average wholesale prices for Hobart indicate that retail costs could rise further in the weeks ahead, with the city seeing the highest weekly increase (8.9c) in terminal gate prices, and the only spike in wholesale diesel prices of all the capitals at 1.1c.
Tasmanian Council of Social Service CEO Paula Wriedt said high fuel prices meant people already struggling with cost-of-living pressures were forced to make “difficult choices and trade-offs”.
“When fuel becomes unaffordable and essential services become inaccessible, it’s Tasmanians experiencing disadvantage who are hit hardest,” she said.
Ms Wriedt said the state and federal governments should consider rolling out fuel vouchers and rebates for low income households.
Regional Tasmania has been hit even harder than Hobart, particularly the town of Sorell, which has experienced the most significant average petrol price rise of the 12 Tasmanian locations tracked by the ACCC, now sitting at $2.54 per litre (+88.4c since February).
Extracted in full from: https://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/petrol-now-more-expensive-in-hobart-than-all-other-capital-cities-accc-monitoring-report-finds/news-story/de605f31b82d711d5892d08401b24f46
