Toowoomba fuel prices still among cheapest in Qld, according to RACQ expert

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has sent the price of oil international skyrocketing, but what will that mean for Toowoomba? SEE WHERE OUR CHEAPEST FUEL IS

Toowoomba fuel prices are still among the cheapest in Queensland.

Toowoomba petrol prices are still likely to remain among the cheapest in Queensland, despite a spike in the cost of oil due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine according to leading experts.

The city’s average unleaded fuel price currently sits at 178.6c per litre, only slightly higher than the RACQ’s “fair price” of 175.9c per litre.

It comes as the price of oil reached US$100 per barrel for the first time since 2014, after Russian troops moved into Ukraine and launched air strikes on major cities.

Russia is the world’s second-largest oil producer, behind only the United States.

RACQ fuel price expert Ian Jeffreys said while consumers could expect some increases from this week in Brisbane and Toowoomba, these jumps would be minor.

“Any sanctions introduced on Russia over its oil industry will impact the oil production — it doesn’t really matter where the oil is produced, but a major supply disruption will push the price up,” he said.

“One thing I noticed from US President Joe Biden’s speech is they have explicitly excluded oil and natural gas from these sanctions against Russia.

“Most likely we’ll look at a slow and steady increase. What happens is we’ll see the oil price go up, but by the time we get to the retail markets, those trends get smoothed out.”

As for Toowoomba, Mr Jeffreys said while a $2 price for unleaded was not out of the question, he wouldn’t bet on it.

“The petrol market in Toowoomba is one of the more difficult markets to forecast,” he said.

“Sometimes it will act like Brisbane, but sometimes it flips and acts like one of the large regional centres.

“It’s unlikely we’re going to see fuel in excess of $2/litre in Toowoomba, but it’s not impossible.”

Mr Jeffreys said a remarkable statistic about the Toowoomba market was the discrepancy between unleaded and E10 prices, pointing to the Metco on Russell Street.

“The good news is there are still a small number of small chains and independents who keep their prices pretty flat,” he said.

“If we do see a price hike, and it’s not certain, we will see a handful of smaller chains and independents keep their prices the same.

“The Metco’s unleaded price is 175.9c/l but the E10 is just 166c/l.

“That could be one of the best prices in the state.”