Petrol price cycle bad news for consumers
Issue Date: - Wednesday, 25 March 2009
FuelWatch Deputy Prices Commissioner Aaron Rayner said today consumers were unlikely to benefit from the latest fuel pricing strategy being attempted by BP in Perth.
Mr Rayner said it was disappointing to see BP hike petrol prices this week in a move that could lead Western Australia back to regular petrol price cycles.
“This appears to be a pricing strategy to increase retail margins. There is no evidence that consumers benefit with the wildly fluctuating petrol prices we see with price cycles,” Mr Rayner said.
Mr Rayner said price cycles were historically a characteristic of Australian metropolitan markets.
“However, Western Australia has not had a regular price cycle since May 2008. This has corresponded with Perth being one of the cheapest petrol markets in Australia,” Mr Rayner said.
The FuelWatch Deputy Prices Commissioner said other petrol brands were likely to follow BP’s lead, as BP in previous years had traditionally led the Perth market in increasing prices at the start of a cycle in Perth.
Mr Rayner referred to a graph which he said indicated the gross average retail margin for BP in Perth this year.
“The effect of the recent price hikes has clearly been to increase BP’s margins, and it is hard to see how this benefits consumers,” he said.
“Consumers will have the ultimate say in whether they accept this latest pricing strategy. Under our FuelWatch system, consumers have access to up-to-date prices of all petrol retailers, and they may choose to drive past high priced sites to seek the cheapest fuel in their area.”
Mr Rayner advised that tomorrow (Thursday) many retailers would increase their prices to 124.9 cents per litre.
“However, more than 100 retailers will still have unleaded petrol selling for less than 110cpl,” Mr Rayner said.
Motorists can find the cheapest prices by checking the FuelWatch website at www.fuelwatch.wa.gov.au or by phoning 1300 55 08 08.