Pakenham’s petrol price hike

Prices across Pakenham as of 9am on Thursday 18 September.

By Mitchell Clarke

Motorists are feeling a pinch at the pump, with a 50 cent per litre disparity recorded between petrol stations in Pakenham.

As of Wednesday morning, 18 September, the price for unleaded petrol was sitting at 126.7 at Liberty and 7/11 on Racecourse Road whereas just kilometres away, the same petrol was being sold for 171.9 at the Coles Express on McGregor Road and Caltex on Main Street.

Road users have even reported seeing a Shell service station in the area pumping out petrol at a whopping 194.9 per litre.

An employee at Liberty said the price was expected to hike sometime in the week, but couldn’t provide an exact time.

“It’s been so busy this morning, we’ve had people lining up, it’s clearly because we’re the cheapest,” he said.

Vehicle Engineering RACV manager Michael Case said a petrol price rise was expected since we had reached the low point in the cycle.

“Initially some service stations moved to a price of $1.67, which is entirely normal given the slight upward trend of the wholesale price,” Mr Case said.

“However, a number of outlets revised this upward to $1.71 and this has been followed by an increasing number of sites going to $1.75.”

There were fears that drone strikes on an oil plant in Saudi Arabia on Saturday 14 September could have disastrous repercussions on our fuel prices but Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association (ACPMA) CEO Mark McKenzie told 3AW the price hike wasn’t linked to the attacks.

“If you’ve got a retailer telling you that their prices have gone up because of the Saudi oil crisis then they’re doing so under false pretences,” Mr McKenzie said.

“Typically, what happens when you get a movement in oil and fuel prices it takes about two to three weeks for it to flow through to the market.”

Saudi Arabia is the world’s biggest oil exporter, shipping about seven million barrels daily, and the RACV said service stations could be using the attack to profit off customers.

“While it would be disappointing if true, it is entirely possible that these extra price increases could, in some way, have been caused by service stations taking advantage of the situation in Saudi Arabia,” Mr Case said.

The RACV said the length of any price cycle is difficult to predict accurately.

“As a general rule, if wholesale prices are going up, the discount phase of the cycle will be shorter. If it is going down the discount phase will be longer,” Mr Case said.

“At present the wholesale price is trending slightly upwards. The typical length for a price cycle, with a stable wholesale price, is approximately three weeks.”

While service stations in Cardinia have put their prices up dramatically, there are still lower prices on offer, with motorists advised to fill up when they find cheap fuel or to just top up their tanks.