Virus scare causes petrol to drop to 13-month low

In a rare bit of good news on the coronavirus front, reduced global demand for fuel caused by the pandemic has seen prices plummet.

Coronavirus has seen petrol prices plummet, but the RACQ says fuel is about to go up again.

There is one silver lining to the coronavirus pandemic — cheaper petrol.

Coronavirus and global economic instability have combined to push unleaded fuel to its lowest price point in more than a year.

It comes as federal Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, spoke to the competition watchdog asking him to ensure servos pass on lower world crude oil prices.

The RACQ said ULP was presently averaging $1.22 a litre in Brisbane, the cheapest since February last year.

Club spokeswoman, Renee Smith, said oil prices fell substantially in the last six weeks as a

result of coronavirus, which had a flow on effect at the bowser.

“There have been more dramatic falls in the global oil price after the Organisation of the

Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) talks collapsed on Friday,” Ms Smith said.

“OPEC announced it would remove all limits on oil production after Russia refused to agree

to Saudi Arabia’s proposal of further production cuts.

“In the last few days, Saudi Arabia has flooded the market with heavily discounted oil at a

time when demand continues to weaken because of coronavirus.

“The Brent oil price has dropped 30 per cent since Friday’s closing price of $48.5 US per

barrel.

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“The last time we saw Brent this low was in April, 2016, prior to an OPEC production cut.”

Ms Smith said the southeast had already enjoyed an extra week of cheap fuel because of

the oil price collapse.

“We’re in the cheap phase of the cycle right now, but a price hike could occur at any time in

Brisbane,’’ she said.

“When it does peak we should see prices substantially lower than what we saw

during the last hike when prices reached as high as 173.9 cents per litre.

“We urge drivers to fill up now and for as cheap as possible using apps like the RACQ Fair

Fuel Finder to ensure they are getting the best deal.

“In regional Queensland, where there is no petrol price cycle, it’s expected ULP prices could

fall even further in the coming weeks.

“Queensland drivers finally have a good news story when it comes to the price of petrol,

make sure you fill up and don’t miss out.”