Petrol prices on upcoming public holidays

Coming up to Labour Day in some states in March, followed by the Easter long weekend, retailers are being asked to consider the price of fuel as pumps get ready for major demand. Wholesale fuel prices have dropped; however, South Australia's RAA has warned that many regional retailers have failed to pass these cost savings onto customers.

Regional retailers hit back, saying that transportation and maintenance costs are higher in regional areas, which explain the price hike. RAA Senior Analyst Chris West said that while Adelaide drivers were enjoying some of the lowest prices since 2005, regional retailers were failing to pass on savings. "Even accounting for the extra transport costs, if the wholesale price savings had been passed on, the pump price should be around 115 to 116 cents per litre," he said.

Unfortunately, Naracoorte is sitting at over 118 cents per litre, Broken Hill at 123 cents, Coober Pedy at 134 cents and Ceduna at 121 cents per litre on average over the past week.

The RAA said Adelaide petrol prices were 97.4 c/litre below the wholesale price of 99.5 c/litre. "So we are advising Adelaide motorists to fill up," Mr. West said.

US favourite Gasbuddy is an app that saves US drivers over $AU 5 billion per year on fuel. Now, the app is coming to Australia and is looking to sign up over half a million users so that it can have the same impact on retail fuel as it does in the US.

The company are controversial, and are in the middle of an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) scandal that alleges Gasbuddy is at the centre of retailer price coordination.

Gasbuddy is largely driven by crowd sourced data - motorists tell Gasbuddy what their local retail price is, and it feeds into the app for other users. Gasbuddy offers a small amount of free petrol as an incentive for this; however, Australian Gasbuddy CEO says that most drivers are motivated to do this to help each other and to "beat big petrol".

Wholesale petrol is on the lower part of the price cycle at the moment, but retailers are making higher margins than before.

Bulk Fuel Australia keeps you in touch with all you need to know about fuel and related news across Australia. Call Bulk Fuel Australia today to learn more about how you can take advantage of wholesale fuel prices.