Record high petrol prices hit Townsville and Gladstone

The average price of unleaded in Townsville hit 163.9 cents per litre (cpl) on Monday 25 October and 163.2cpl in Gladstone, both 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 which then impacts what we pay at the bowser,” Ms Leonard-Jones said.

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

“However, regional Queensland hasn’t been impacted as severely as the south east, where the fuel price cycle contributed to Brisbane’s recent all-time record high of 178.7cpl for unleaded.”

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

“Prices should begin to stabilise over the next week or two but unfortunately 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.”