Average retail petrol prices in 2020–21 in Australia’s 5 largest cities were the lowest in 22 years in real inflation adjusted terms, according to the ACCC’s latest petrol monitoring report released today.
The report looks at Australian petrol prices in the 2020–21 financial year and the June quarter 2021.
Cuts in oil production by the OPEC cartel and other big producers, combined with a pick-up in global fuel demand, led to higher petrol prices in Australia’s five largest capital cities in the March 2021 quarter.
Independent petrol retail chains Speedway, Metro Petroleum, United, Vibe and FuelXpress had the cheapest petrol in Australia’s eight capital cities in 2020, a new ACCC petrol industry report reveals.
Petrol prices in Australia’s five largest cities stabilised at the end of 2020 after an unpredictable year and petrol sales volumes continued to recover from their earlier pandemic-driven slump.
Average petrol prices rose in the September quarter 2020 after a record low earlier in the year, but still remain well below the 15-year real average of 151.6 cents per litre (cpl).
The ACCC’s latest petrol monitoring report shows the average retail price for petrol in the September quarter across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth was 122.1 cpl, an increase of 13.1 cpl from the June quarter 2020.
Average petrol prices in the June quarter 2020 fell to their lowest level in 21 years in real inflation adjusted terms as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but gross retail margins remain at record highs.