Record high petrol prices hit Far North Queensland

The average price of unleaded hit 165.2 cents per litre (cpl) in Cairns, 165.4cpl in Atherton, 165.2cpl in Innisfail and 166cpl in Tully, surpassing previous records set in October 2018.

RACQ spokesperson Kate Leonard-Jones said global factors were behind the unprecedented prices. 

“As countries open up from COVID-19 restrictions, international supply and demand issues have driven up oil prices leading to high terminal gate prices,” Ms Leonard-Jones said.

“These record high prices will come as a shock to families in Far North Queensland, who were paying around 50cpl less this time last year.

“However, regional Queensland hasn’t been impacted as severely as the south east, where Brisbane broke its record high when average unleaded prices tipped 178.8cpl.”

Ms Leonard-Jones said prices in regional centres across Queensland had risen between 2cpl and 5cpl in the past week.

“Prices could continue to rise further but should then begin to stabilise over the next week or two. However, we’re unlikely to see prices fall by any significant amount in the lead up to Christmas,” she said.

“No matter where in Queensland you live, make sure you use apps like RACQ’s Fair Fuel Finder to track down the service stations near you with the best deals.”