Petrol prices are at a 10-year high and Moss Vale is once again the most expensive place to fill up in regional NSW – but the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has no plans to look into our prices.
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The ACCC has conducted several petrol market studies in recent years to look at specific petrol issues in depth.
The studies include analysis of the price drivers of petrol in regional markets.
According to the ACCC, the aim of the market studies generally includes explaining why petrol prices are higher in certain regional locations and where the profits are being made along the petrol supply chain.
The locations selected for market studies include Armidale, Brisbane, Cairns, Launceston and Darwin.
When the Southern Highland News contacted the ACCC this week to ask if the commission intended to conduct further individual market studies and look into ongoing high prices in the Highlands, a spokesman declined to comment.
The spokesman was asked why Armidale was chosen over the Southern Highlands for a market study, if the ACCC would conduct any further market studies, how an area qualifies for a market study and if the ACCC looked into individual markets in different ways.
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The spokesman provided general information, including influences on petrol prices, its most recent petrol monitoring report, the reasoning behind the selection of Armidale and the results from the market studies.
Armidale was chosen as the focus of a market study in August 2015 as “the average retail price of unleaded petrol in Armidale was 144.7 cents per litre in 2014 to 15”.
However in the ACCC’s report on the Australian petroleum market for the June quarter in 2015, Moss Vale had a higher average monthly petrol price than Armidale in March 2015 and June 2015.
In the March 2015 quarter the average price for Moss Vale was 133.7 cents per litre and in the June quarter the average price was 148.3 cents per litre.
Meanwhile in Armidale the average price was 133.2 for the March 2015 quarter, and 143.0 in the June 2015 quarter.
Up the road from Moss Vale at Mittagong, the average price was 131.0 cents per litre for the March quarter, and 142.9 cents per litre for the June 2015 quarter.
The ACCC released the results of the studies in 2016 and 2017.
The 70-page Armidale report provided detail into price history, retail margins, operating costs, freight, retail profits, discounts and transparency in terms of price.
The ACCC has stated the individual market studies have broader implications for regional NSW.
The ACCC also provides average fuel prices from all capital cities and about 180 regional locations across Australia in its quarterly reports.
The current petrol price cycle
Petrol prices increased last week to hit a national average of $1.59 a litre, the highest since July 2008, according to the Australian Institute of Petroleum.
Average regular unleaded prices in regional NSW rose 0.6 cents per litre and diesel prices rose 0.9 cents per litre this past week, according to the NRMA.
Regular unleaded petrol rose four cents per litre in Moss Vale in the past week.
Of the 57 regular unleaded and diesel locations monitored by Bowser Buster, Moss Vale was the most expensive location for diesel at 172.2 cents per litre and came in 53rd for regular unleaded at 165.1 cents per litre.
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About an hour up the road at Goulburn, the average regular unleaded price was 10 cents cheaper than Moss Vale at 155.0 cents per litre.
The average price of diesel in Goulburn was 164.6 cents per litre.
The data, which was released on Tuesday, ranked the locations from cheapest to dearest locations for average prices as at close of business on October 21.
