Why you need to fill your car with petrol today
Drivers are being warned to fill up their cars now before price gouging ahead of the Easter long weekend. Here’s what the RACV says you should be paying at the pump.
Victoria
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Motorists are being warned to fill up ahead of a predicted surge in fuel prices in the lead-up to the Easter long weekend.
Experts are predicting pain at the bowser to begin this week, as a “volatile market” threatens to send prices skyrocketing.
The average fuel price in Melbourne on Sunday was 181.2c per litre, according to the RACV, which urged customers to not pay anything above 166.9c per litre.
RACV’s fuel tracking website stated the highest price in metropolitan Melbourne for ordinary unleaded petrol was 205.9c per litre – compared with 160.9c per litre for the cheapest fuel.
According to PetrolSpy on Sunday afternoon, many retailers had already started to jack up their prices to 205.9c per litre, while some had kept it about 165.9c per litre.
NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury urged people to head to the servo sooner rather than later.
“Things are just so volatile right now because of the tariffs. It’s going to be a watch and see,” he said.
“If I’m living in Melbourne, I’m filling up now or at the very least topping up. If I’m leaving Melbourne and heading away for the school holidays, you may actually be going somewhere that’s cheaper.”
Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association chief Mark McKenzie said even at the peak of the cycle drivers could still snag a bargain thanks to a “huge variation” across the market.
He said he expected fuel prices to peak this weekend before slowly dropping ahead of the Easter long weekend.
“We are seeing a lot of competition in the industry which means we see a lot of variation and because of that, if you look around on any day at any point in the cycle you should be able to beat the average by between 10 and 15c a litre,” he said.
Originally published as Why you need to fill your car with petrol today
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