Staggering fuel price hike prompts urgent warning

Club spokesperson Lauren Ritchie said close to 40 service stations in Brisbane were now selling regular unleaded (RULP) for 169.9 cents per litre (cpl). 

“Brisbane is entering the expensive phase of the price cycle, with Coles Express leading the price hike on Tuesday morning, bumping prices to an eye-watering 169.9cpl,” Ms Ritchie said. 

“We haven’t seen prices like this since February 2020 - before the pandemic, so there’ll be hip pocket pain for drivers who delay filling the tank. 

“Luckily, the majority of servos in Brisbane are still selling RULP for 131cpl or less, but those lower prices could disappear quickly, so fill up now.”

Ms Ritchie explained global factors combined with the regular price cycle observed in Brisbane resulted in high prices at the bowser. 

“The oil price and terminal gate price has been trending up in recent months, which flows through to what we pay at the pump,” she said. 

“But we’re also seeing the first signs oil prices are easing, so hopefully we’ll get better deals at the bottom of the next cycle, but that’s still likely to be more than a week away.

“Motorists in other parts of the south east, including Ipswich, the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast can expect to see prices follow Brisbane’s lead, and could increase at any time.”

Ms Ritchie urged drivers to shop around to avoid getting ripped off.

“The price of petrol can vary drastically from suburb to suburb, so it really pays to use apps like RACQ' Fair Fuel Finder to seek out the cheapest places for fuel and reward those retailers.”