Do not spike before long weekend - NRMA warns oil companies

A sudden overnight spike in petrol prices by a number of major oil company brands in Sydney has led to a warning by the NRMA to not use the June long weekend as an excuse to reverse falls in prices and increase profit margins.

The average price of petrol in Sydney has fallen slowly to 103.7 cents per litre (CPL) for regular unleaded and should continue to fall to below $1 a litre, with Sydney’s terminal gate price currently 97.2 CPL. There is no justification for prices to increase before the long weekend.

According to the my nrma app 18 service stations in Sydney spiked to 135.9 CPL and eight to 136.9 CPL overnight despite prices not falling anywhere near the levels they should at the bottom of the cycle. These service stations currently sit at least 32 CPL above the average.

Despite the recalcitrant behaviour of some of the major brands there are still significant bargains to be found at the bowser in Sydney before the long weekend.

According to the my nrma app almost one-third (32%) of service stations are selling regular unleaded for less than $1 a litre.

Oil companies continue to overindulge in profit margins for Diesel, with the average price in Sydney currently 115 CPL – almost 15 CPL over the wholesale price.

NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury said Australians would be watching the behaviour of the oil companies closely in the lead-up to the June long weekend, after they failed to pass on the full falls of global oil prices during the last price cycle.

“The average price in Sydney should be falling to below $1 a litre – not rising – so those oil companies looking to jack up their prices before the long weekend need to readjust their prices immediately,” Mr Khoury said.

“Across the community we are trying to encourage people to plan a road trip and start to head out after months in isolation – our economy and in particular regional communities desperately need it – so now is hardly the time to be artificially forcing up your prices and ripping families off.

“While global oil prices are starting to increase with global demand increasing the terminal gate price still remains relatively low so there is no reason for service stations to be pushing up their prices.

We also want families to shop around before filling up. According to the my nrma app there are still cheaper bargains to be found with the cheapest service station in Sydney currently selling regular unleaded at 92.9 cents per litre and 32 per cent of service stations currently under $1 a litre.”