Adelaide petrol prices reach ten year high as price hikes leave motorists out of pocket

Petrol prices have reached a ten year high, but there is another reason motorists should be angry about the eye-watering prices.

Petrol prices in Adelaide have hit a ten year high but it is the price spikes which have added insult to injury.

On Monday the average price of unleaded petrol in Adelaide was 170.1c/l, the highest since 173.c/l in 2008 which was caused by highly unstable oil prices.

However, data collated by the RAA has shown that while the wholesale price of petrol was gradually increasing, the retail margins had increased by more than 50 per cent.

The average price on Monday was 33.5c/l above the wholesale cost compared to 22.2c/l in October last year.

RAA fuel expert Mark Borlace said the price spikes had increased in size this year.

“During the past few years prices would spike by around 20c/l on average above wholesale costs as part of the pricing cycle,’’ Mr Borlace said.

“But more recently these price spikes have been increasing, and are now jumping by around 30c/l on average above wholesale costs.

“This means motorists are facing a much bigger hit to their hip pocket if they get caught short of fuel at the top end of the pricing cycle.’’

The cost difference of filling up a typical sedan at the highest end of the fuel cycle versus the lower end is around $20.

Over the weekend the price of petrol spiked by 42c/l in the space of 48 hours.