Petrol prices skyrocket across Hervey Bay, Maryborough, Bundaberg, Gympie

The war in Ukraine is a major contributing factor behind the petrol price pain being felt by motorists across the Wide Bay.

A war being fought about 14,000km away is continuing to hit hip pockets of motorists across the Wide Bay and beyond.

Petrol prices in Gympie hit $207.3 on average this week, while Maryborough hit 204.7, Hervey Bay reached 207.1 and Bundaberg hit 205.3.

RACQ fuel expert Ian Jeffreys said the numbers were “all time record high prices”.

Mr Jeffreys said the invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sanctions placed on Russia had caused the price of oil to skyrocket.

“Russia is the world’s third largest oil producer,” he said.

“The sanctions imposed on Russia have reduced the amount of oil available.

“That means you’re limiting supply, but demand remains the same.

“That is the main factor and the one that is front of mind.”

Also contributing to high oil prices was OPEC, the oil producing cartel, which had constrained supply, leading to higher petrol prices in the last two years.

The third contributing factor to higher petrol prices was the pandemic.

In the early days of the pandemic, fuel consumption dropped, leading to the lowest petrol prices seen in Australia in about 20 years.

But as people are allowed to move around again and restrictions ease, consumption was picking back up as demand returned, Mr Jeffreys said.

In the early days of the pandemic, fuel consumption dropped, leading to the lowest petrol prices seen in Australia in about 20 years.

The good news was he believed prices had peaked and were trending downwards.

Mr Jeffreys said the United States was ramping up production, which had seen the cost of a barrel of oil drop from $130US to $105US in recent weeks.

But the increased US production would not the capacity to compensate for the loss of Russian oil, he said.

“Now the spike happened, it will take a while for that to flow through to regional markets,” he said.

“But the high prices we’re seeing now should be the worst of it.”

Much would depend on whether there was a further escalation of the current war in Europe, he said.

Mr Jeffreys while people’s hip pockets were hurting, most didn’t have an option when it came to whether or not to use their car.

“When fuel prices go up, people still need to get to work, get to school,” he said.

“You’ve just got to weather it.”

Mr Jeffreys said shopping around for fuel was still vital, including using apps like RACQ’s Fair Fuel Finder.

“You get the best deal you can and it encourages competition,” he said.