Petrol discounts: The race to fill up at just $1 a litre

PETROL prices have plummeted so low, they could actually put servos out of business. But if you don’t fill up now, you’ll soon pay much more.

Cheap petrol - Metro at Homer St, Earlwood. 99.9 cents per litre.

SYDNEY petrol prices have plummeted to below $1 a litre, but the good times wo­n’t last.

“If you miss out in the next few days then you could be paying a substantially higher price,” CommSec chief economist Craig James said.

Since January 7 the average price of unleaded petrol has fallen by 23.6 cents a litre.

For a 60-litre tank of fuel, that equates to $14 every time you fill up at the bowser.

Yesterday petrol retailers bought unleaded for 103.5 cents a litre — higher than what plenty of servos were actually selling fuel for.

Mr James said the discounts would only last a few more days. “Clearly that’s not sustainable — you’d go out of business,” he said. He predicts prices will creep back to 120-125 cents a litre.

The low prices come as Australian Motoring Enthusiast Senator Ricky Muir calls on the Turnbull government to consider new laws to stop motorists being ripped off.

“It is no secret that when the price of a barrel of fuel goes up that the cost to the consumer seems to be passed on even before the next delivery of fuel arrives,” he said.

Senator Muir said it was time the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission had “stronger powers” to pursue and penalise gouging.

Teacher Sophia Danas paid just over a dollar a litre for unleaded at Rebel Petrol in Earlwood yesterday.

“To be honest with you, no I can’t remember (the last time it was this cheap), when I first started driving probably.”

Sophia Danas filling up at Rebel Petrol, Earlwood.

Originally published as Petrol discounts: The race to fill up at just $1 a litre