Petrol prices surge in South Australia

PETROL prices have surged by more than 30c/l across Adelaide but motorists can still make big savings if they shop around, according to the RAA.

Carl Smith fills up at a servo on West Tce. Pic: Greg Higgs

PETROL prices have surged by more than 30 cents a litre across Adelaide but motorists might find savings if prepared to shop around, the RAA says.

Prices rose to 138.9c/l at many outlets — including On The Run and Caltex/Woolworths sites — on Saturday but on Sunday afternoon others still had unleaded for 105.9c/l.

The difference is more than $23 for a typical family sedan.

RAA spokesman Mark Borlace said the price spike was more a matter of timing than a deliberate attempt by fuel retailers to cash in on petrol demand by holidaying motorists.

“Retailers had been selling below the wholesale price for around 10 days and we thought they may have spiked before the long weekend,’’ he said.

“Adelaide motorists should look to fill up at the cheaper levels. They will have to look hard for a bargain (now) and mostly independent outlets would be their port of call.’’

Mr Borlace had this advice for motorists returning to Adelaide from a holiday spot.

“I would be filling up before going home,’’ he said.

While Adelaide’s average unleaded price was 131.9c/l yesterday, petrol was cheaper in regional areas. The RAA website showed it was 120.9c/l in Bordertown, 121.6c/l in Clare, 118.5c/l in Renmark, and 120.5c/l in Kadina.

Mt Gambier resident Carl Smith said he was glad he didn’t have to regularly deal with Adelaide’s pricing cycle.

“There’s no good reason why prices go up so much in such a short amount of time,’’ said the 43-year-old, who was visiting Adelaide.

The good news for motorists over the longer term is that retail prices in the March quarter were their lowest in 17 years, according to the national consumer watchdog.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s latest Report on the Australian Petroleum Market also found Adelaide had the lowest difference between pump and wholesale prices in the nation in the March quarter. The difference in Adelaide averaged 7.2c/l, compared to Brisbane (13.2c), Perth (11.7c), Melbourne (9.1) and Sydney (7.5).

The narrowing of the price gap came after the ACCC wrote to the major retailers asking for an explanation why it had been so high in the second half of last year. Among the reasons provided were “time lags’’ in the supply chain.

The report said while the ACCC was disappointed “that competitive rivalry has not been stronger, it is encouraging that margins have now narrowed somewhat’’.

page 18: editorial