Toowoomba pumps state's cheapest petrol
The RACQ’s annual fuel price survey has revealed the Garden City’s average price for unleaded petrol (ULP) of 112.2 cents a litre last year was 5.7 cents cheaper than the state capital’s average (117.9c).
Motorists in Townsville (115.8c), Mackay (115.9c), Warwick (116.2c), Kingaroy and Goondiwindi (both 117.1c) all enjoyed lower petrol prices than their south-east Queensland counterparts. Caloundra – the state’s leading centre for fuel discounting for the previous five years – could only match Brisbane’s average in 2009.
RACQ’s general manager for external relations, Gary Fites, said the welcome outbreak of retail competition in several regional centres, both large and small, was in stark contrast to Brisbane’s shift to being the most expensive mainland state capital in which to buy petrol.
“The reversal in the relative fortunes of metropolitan and many country motorists is underlined by our analysis, showing that, even on Brisbane’s ‘cheap Wednesdays’, Toowoomba’s daily average pump prices were lower on 30 weeks last year,” Mr Fites said.
“In other words, for most of last year, Toowoomba motorists could be virtually guaranteed prices cheaper than Brisbane’s without having to worry about which day of the week to fill up.
“It appears there has been a real battle for local market share in the Toowoomba and other centres where prices have been keenest. That’s undoubtedly been good for their local motorists in 2009; but if it’s been at the expense of independent operators any joy could be relatively short-lived.”
The Gulf town of Weipa was the most expensive of the 27 centres monitored in the RACQ survey, with an average ULP price of 155 cents a litre, while Rockhampton was consistently the least affordable fuel stop among the major coastal cities, recording an average price of 121.6c.
“Lower fuel prices generated by a slump in international demand would have been one of the bright spots for motorists in the midst of the global financial crisis, had it not been for the Queensland Government’s decision to axe the state’s fuel subsidy on July 1 last year,” Mr Fites said.
“Our figures show that, from July 1 onwards, motorists paid around 12 cents a litre more for ULP than they did in the first half of the year – and 9.2c of this was directly due to the removal of the subsidy.”
The RACQ survey confirmed that diesel had become more pump price-competitive with petrol last year.
Around 15 to 20 cents a litre more expensive than ULP at the start of 2009, the distillate fuel, which is used in many four-wheel-drives and an increasing number of passenger cars, was just about on price parity with ULP in most centres by December.
The cheapest diesel available in 2009 was to be found at Caloundra (annual average 116.8c), with Brisbane one cent behind on 117.8c. It was only slightly higher in several other centres, including the Gold Coast and Townsville (118c), Ipswich and Toowoomba (118.5c), Warwick (118.8c) and the Sunshine Coast (119.1c).
“Diesel vehicle owners, in particular, reaped some benefit from the world’s economic woes as industrial demand for the fuel shrank through most of the year,” Mr Fites said.
“As for 2010, all Queensland motorists will be hoping that a strong Australian dollar will provide a buffer against any fuel price rises flowing from a rebounding world economy.
“With the state fuel subsidy, which delivered Australia’s lowest fuel prices, now consigned to the Government’s scrap heap, vehicle owners will need all the help they can get to keep motoring affordable.”
The RACQ’s annual survey of fuel prices is based on average monthly price data provided by independent fuel price monitor FuelTrac Pty Ltd.
