Authorities say Australian petrol prices have stabilised after a highly unpredictable year. 

The ACCC’s latest petrol monitoring report shows the average retail price for petrol in the December quarter 2020 across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth was 121.4 cents per litre (cpl), a decrease of only 0.7 cpl from the previous quarter.

Petrol sales volumes across Australia picked up in the December quarter and were on average 6 per cent lower than average sale volumes in 2019, compared with 28 per cent lower in the June quarter and 17 per cent lower in the September quarter.

“Restrictions on travel and economic activity from the pandemic have had an enormous effect on petrol volumes and prices in Australia” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said. 

“All motorists would have liked to see petrol prices remain at the record lows of April last year but average prices in the December quarter were still about 30 cpl below the 15-year inflation adjusted average.”

Average gross retail margins in the five largest cities fell slightly in the December quarter, after hitting record highs in the September quarter, but remained well above historical levels. 

The report shows that taxes remain higher than the cost of fuel.

The December quarter 2020 was the third successive quarter in which taxes accounted for a larger proportion of the total price of petrol than the refined petrol itself.

“The price Australians pay at the petrol bowser can be divided into three components: the petrol that goes in your tank, taxes, and the costs and margins of wholesalers and retailers. Between April and December last year, a large part of what you paid at the bowser was tax,” Mr Sims said.

In the December quarter 2020, average petrol prices in regional Australia remained lower than average prices in the five largest cities. Average prices across 190 regional locations were 119.5 cpl, which was 1.9 cpl lower than average prices in the five largest cities (121.4 cpl).

“Petrol prices have traditionally been higher in regional areas with less competition so a sustained period with average prices below those in the major capital cities is good news for people across regional Australia,” Mr Sims said.