MOTORISTS around the MIA have largely been spared from the massive spike in petrol prices.
The average price of fuel in Leeton has barely risen at all over the last three days going from 126.2 cents per litre to 126.7 cents per litre on Wednesday which is great news for motorists.
Meanwhile, in Griffith, there has been a slight rise over the past three days going from 126.8 on average to 133.2, a jump of 6.5 cents per litre.
The rise in Griffith was not to the extent other areas have seen, such as West Wyalong, which is currently experiencing average prices of 137.6 cents per litre.
Wagga found itself to be in a similar position as the average price rose from 129.5 cents to 138.7 in the space of four days.
The NRMA have warned there is still the chance the prices could rise above five cents per litre.
NRMA spokesman Rebecca Page said the petrol price rise was largely down to oil-producing nations agreeing to reduce the supply.
The weakening Australian dollar also compounded the issue, but Ms Page said there was hope of a fall in prices again soon.
“There’s good news in that the Aussie dollar has risen slightly against the greenback and the barrel-price of oil has fallen by about $3,” Ms Page said.
“The worst should be behind us, we don’t expect to see further rises, but it could be a week or two before the drop reaches motorist in the MIA.”
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission had warned of the rises last week, with chairman Rod Sims citing Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decision as a key factor.
“Along with the falling exchange rate, the OPEC agreements are the primary reason for increases in wholesale petrol prices over the past six weeks and why motorists are likely to see higher petrol prices in the near future,” Mr Sims said.
“The OPEC cartel, therefore, continues to cause Australian motorists to pay much more for petrol than they should.”
Ms Page said there is an easy way to find where the low prices are in the area.
“The NRMA app has petrol price which is regularly updated,” she said.
“Once stations change their prices the app is usually updated within twenty minutes.
“If motorists are looking to save money they should keep their eye on the app before they fill up.”
Liam Warren
As someone with an underlying passion about sport it is a privilege to report on the sporting landscape around the MIA
As someone with an underlying passion about sport it is a privilege to report on the sporting landscape around the MIA
