Last week, fuel price monitoring company Fueltrac released its monthly newsletter and revealed that the average price for unleaded petrol rose by five cents to 146.6 cents per litre the week before hitting a level not seen since late 2014.
According to Fueltrac, metropolitan pump prices rose by 6.2 cents to 146.4 cents per litre, outpacing a 2.3 cent increase in regional prices to 146.9 cents per litre.
As of today (10th May), the national average wholesale unleaded petrol price stands at 129.2 cents a litre, up 0.8 cents on a week earlier. With retail prices rising faster than wholesale costs, gross retail margins rose from 13.2 cents to 17.4 cents last week”.
“The bad news for motorists (and Fleet Managers) is that retail petrol prices are likely to rise even further.
In Australian dollar terms, Singapore gasoline prices — where much of Australia’s petrol is sourced — increased by $5.04, or 4.7%, to $111.60 a barrel last week.
Excluding the impact of individual petrol price cycles across the nation’s capitals, that suggests retail prices may lift further in the coming weeks.
Rising geopolitical risks in the Middle East, along with supply outages in Venezuela and Angola and ongoing supply cuts from OPEC and non-OPEC producers, are placing upward pressure on oil prices at present.
Brent crude oil futures — the global crude benchmark — have rallied 180% to $US78Bbl since hitting a more-than-decade low of $US27 a barrel in early 2016.
For more information on historical fuel prices click here.
