Drivers urged to fill up as petrol hikes loom
Drivers have been urged to fuel up their cars before petrol price hikes take effect.
The cost of fuel is expected to rise as much as 50 cents per litre across the country in the coming days, 7 News reported.
But don’t just fuel up anywhere: NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury told drivers to shop around.
"There's a growing number of independents in Sydney, which means you're going to get more competition on price," he said.
Also read: How to make money when petrol prices go up
“We’re currently looking at a gap of around 50 cents a litre between the cheapest and most expensive petrol station.”
For example, Brisbane currently has the most expensive petrol at $1.76 per litre, while the most expensive petrol in Sydney and Melbourne is $1.74.
Earlier this year, Queensland’s peak monitoring body, the RACQ, slammed fuel companies for taking advantage of the Saudi Arabian drone strikes and ‘ripping’ motorists off.
At the time, five Caltex service stations hiked their unleaded prices to 177.9 cents per litre, which returned total margins in excess of 60 cpl, RACQ spokesperson Renee Smith said.
“The margins they’re making are up more than 30cpl on when we last saw retail prices this high in October 2018,” Smith said.
How to save money when petrol prices are high
If you’ve got a full tank and don’t need to fill up now, there’s a new Australian mobile app that promises cheap petrol for drivers - even when everyone else is paying through the nose.
The app, Refueler, works by allowing users to pre-purchase fuel when the price is low then pump it into their vehicle later when needed. The motorist has 10 days to collect the petrol.
This means the driver can potentially be paying the cheapest price when everyone else is paying top dollar – a difference that can be as much as 40 cents per litre.
7-Eleven also has a mobile app that allows Aussies to lock in the petrol price when it’s cheap.
When you fill up later, you can pay at that price - the only catch is that you have to use the frozen price within seven days of locking it in.
And, investing in exchange-traded funds that track the value of commodities (including crude oil) could be a way to make money when petrol prices are high.
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