Petrol hits yet another price high

PETROL prices in Townsville continue to cause pain for motorists, with some service stations nudging close to 170c a litre.

The Bulletin reported on Saturday that prices had officially hit an all- time high, with the average price at the pump passing 160c/ L.

But yesterday some service stations around the region were selling unleaded fuel for 169.9c/ L.

The cheapest place to fill up in the region was at United service station in Ayr, with unleaded petrol for 154.9c/ L recorded via Petrol Spy.

In Townsville, the cheapest was United West End, where unleaded was 157.9c/ L.

RACQ spokeswoman Lucinda Ross said it was the first time prices had surpassed 160c/ L.

“Not only Townsville, it’s in the South East and across many regional towns and cities we’re getting price highs we’ve never seen before,” she said.

Ms Ross said the rising fuel costs came down to a couple of factors.

“It’s ( a combination of) the global oil price that has peaked recently and the Australian dollar softening, which is pushing up the wholesale fuel price for stations which they’re then passing on to drivers,” Ms Ross said.

Heading into the weekend, she didn’t expect prices to rise but said it was hard to predict.

“I don’t think we’ll see much of a change towards the weekend but it’s difficult to know with petrol prices, these global factors we have no control over,” Ms Ross said.

“When it comes to what we can do as drivers, we can choose where we fill up and what price we pay.

“Drivers need to empower themselves and do their research before they fill their tank.

“RACQ Fair Fuel shows most service stations around Townsville. It gives drivers the advantage where you can drive a street or two over and give your support to those offering a lower price.

“The worst we can do is choose a service station because of convenience.”

Ms Ross said, after RACQ lobbying, the State Government would kick off a trial in December for real- time fuel pricing at service stations across the state.

“It should be a real game changer when it comes to transparency,” she said.