South West fuel prices continue to soar

South West motorists are paying up to $2.19 a litre to fill up their tanks as they continue to feel the pinch at petrol bowsers as prices continue to soar.

The unprecedented prices, which are expected to keep rising as the fuel-price cycle flows to the regions in the coming weeks, are already impacting buyer behaviour and forcing the Federal Government to look seriously at slashing the national fuel excise.

Thursday’s highest fuel price for standard ULP was $2.19 at Northcliffe Farm and Trade, the service station in the South West timber town repeating its price from Wednesday.

BP Donnybrook has the next highest price in the region at $2.17 Thursday, sitting above the region’s average price of $2.09/L as of March 16, with diesel at $2.23/L.

The highest price at a WA bowser in 2022 so far was at the Ngiyali Roadhouse in Fitzroy Crossing, which had ULP and diesel both at $2.54/L on March 15, diesel sitting at that price from March 12-15.

Benchmark fuel prices have been climbing around the world since the beginning of December as demand outstrips supply, industries once again gathering pace as COVID restrictions are eased.

This price-climbing trend has been further impacted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has caused significant disruptions in oil and refined fuel trade routes.

WA’s petrol price watchdog FuelWatch confirmed regional motorists usually bear the brunt of higher fuel prices, mainly due to higher wholesale prices in the regions, regional retailers selling lower fuel volumes which drive up marginal costs, lower levels of local competition in regional area, and regional retailers usually making less profits from non-fuel purchases.

“In saying that there are some regional areas that have intense competition that can drive prices low,” a FuelWatch spokesperson said.

“Additionally, in times when prices increase sharply as it has recently, regional prices may be lower than the metro as price movements are felt earlier in the metro.”

BP Roadhouse Harvey has today’s lowest price, at just $1.99/L for ULP.

FuelWatch pointed out that fuel prices in the region don’t follow the same price cycle as Perth, mainly due to the smaller volumes of regional sales, meaning it takes longer to turn over existing stock before they replenish with new fuel at new wholesale prices.

“It generally takes one to two weeks for movements in the international benchmark prices to flow on to Perth metropolitan retail prices, and generally up to a further four weeks to be felt in regional areas,” the spokesperson said.

This could mean the worst is yet to come for fuel prices in the South West, but residents are already changing their buying behaviour.

Bunbury mother-of-two Lisa Alietti said she and her husband, Joel, were taking more care of where and when they buy fuel.

“We have a young family so we are really feeling the pinch with the increasing prices,” she said.

Currently on maternity leave for her three-month-old daughter, Mrs Alietti said she knew other families were doing it tough due to one or both income earners losing work because of the pandemic.

“We’re lucky my husband’s job means he has a work car, so I can use our family car to take our son to school,” she said.

“Everyday families were already being careful with their money because of the pandemic, then the supply-chain issues making groceries cost more.

“I don’t know how much longer we can all keep paying this much when we fuel up. Something needs to be done.”

The Federal Government is believed to be actively considering cutting the fuel excise — the flat rate sales tax levied at the bowser — currently sitting at 44.2 cents/L.

On Monday the New Zealand government announced it was slash the country’s fuel excise duty by 25 cents for the next three months.