Brisbane fuel prices outstrip other cities, says RACQ

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Brisbane fuel prices outstrip other cities, says RACQ

From: AAP February 16, 2011 9:16AM



BRISBANE motorists pay more for petrol than drivers in Australia's other major cities, a new report shows.

The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland's (RACQ) Annual Fuel Price Report for 2010 shows Brisbane petrol prices were higher last year than in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide.

The average price of unleaded fuel in Brisbane was 127 cents per litre (cpl), an average of two cents per litre higher than in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, and four cents per litre higher than Adelaide.

Brisbane motorists also paid 9.1 cents a litre more on average than they did in 2009, when the state government ended a fuel subsidy of about eight cents per litre.

RACQ spokesman Paul Turner said Brisbane fuel prices were also higher than in some of the state's regional cities.

Toowoomba drivers paid 123.6 cents a litre, Bundaberg 126.2, and Townsville 126.7.



"This is very disappointing as fuel prices in Brisbane should be cheaper, given the city's large market, higher volumes of fuel consumption, and that fuel is refined locally," Mr Turner said.

He said the high price of unleaded petrol in Brisbane was largely due to the dominance of the major supermarket chains and the absence of a major discounter, as in other capitals.

Premium unleaded petrol stayed at about 9 cents a litre above regular unleaded fuel, Mr Turner said.

"It's disappointing to see the cost of premium ULP so high, given that it costs the refiners only 3.5 cents a litre more to produce than regular ULP," he said.

On the plus side, motorists would be paying 14 cents a litre more for fuel if it wasn't for the strong Australian dollar, the RACQ report said

Thank you Anna for scrapping the states 8cl fuel subsidy...