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Drivers are paying more for fuel after the federal government's excise discount came to an end at midnight. The treasurer has asked the consumer watchdog to keep an eye on any unexplainably high price increases. The RACQ's fuel analyst Ian Jeffreys says most retailers appear to have heeded that warning.

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00:02So far, we haven't seen any sharp increases in petrol prices. Looking around Brisbane
00:08today, we're seeing most sites still priced at $1.99. There are a few that have jumped
00:14up to about $2.03 to $2.04 per litre. And this is a situation we expect to see in
00:20most
00:21of our capital cities.
00:22Now, we know that the Treasurer has written to the consumer watchdog, the ACCC, asking
00:27for extra scrutiny at these prices we're seeing at the Bowser. When we had the cut, though,
00:32that flowed through pretty quickly. So can you explain what should happen here?
00:37So as you said, look, excise is charged at the wholesale level. So the fuel in the ground
00:42this morning, fuel that was delivered potentially last week, will still be charged at the old
00:48rate of excise. So that was $0.36 per litre. Over the next week to 10 days, we will see
00:55that new fuel flow into our retail network. And we will see, you know, a slow but steady
01:02increase in retail prices.
01:04So that warning or threat from the Treasurer, how seriously will fuel suppliers take this,
01:09do you think?
01:10Look, I think they are, yeah, certainly they will take any comments by the Treasurer very
01:14seriously. You know, this is the second time we've had that increase in the fuel excise.
01:20When we go back to early July, when they increased excise by $0.16, we didn't see a sharp jump
01:29up
01:29in the petrol price. We did see prices slowly increase over the course of, you know, like
01:34the week to 10 days. From what we can see at the moment, certainly fuel companies have heeded
01:41that warning and are only very modestly increasing prices.
01:45And do we know what sort of trigger would see the ACCC step in?
01:50Look, I think if there are prices that are unduly high, prices over and above what we would
01:59expect given the increase in the wholesale price, I think that would be the trigger for
02:03the ACCC to step in. Going back to March, we did see some fuel companies hike their prices
02:11early and we did refer that to the ACCC and certainly RACQ and the other auto clubs. And
02:17I'm sure the ACCC will be closely monitoring prices at this time.
02:21Where are we now at with supply? What's the latest update on that?
02:25So supply is strong. Some of the measures that have been taken have bolstered supply. So there
02:30is plenty of fuel in the Australian market. So supply isn't a problem at this time. Look,
02:38we will see pricing is on the way up. The excise is only one element of pricing. We have also
02:47seen
02:47an increase in the price of oil over the last week. So that will also put up with pressure on
02:54prices.
02:55And what are the predictions moving forward then? Because as we know, this war is ongoing.
02:59Yeah. Look, I think in the next few weeks, unleaded should max out at about $2.20 a litre.
03:09Certainly, there's no reason why it would be anywhere higher than $2.20 a litre. Diesel,
03:15unfortunately, is significantly more expensive and diesel prices could reach up into the $2.60 price
03:22range. Are there any additional measures that could be put in place to take away the sting of
03:28these prices if they get quite high? Look, I think at the moment, prices are on the increase. They
03:36are certainly quite a bit lower than we saw back in the beginning of April and early March when
03:42unleaded hit $2.60 a litre. Diesel picked at about $3.30 a litre. Certainly, there are other cost of
03:50living measures and the federal government could consider and we would leave that to them to
03:56consider. In terms of what we can do individually, there is cheaper fuel in the market at the moment
04:05and we would expect cheaper fuel to be retained for the next week or so. So it is important for
04:11all of us to get onto the price comparison apps, look at the different sites and give our business
04:16to those retailers that are keeping a lower price for longer.
04:21because of the expensive prices, there are some cases.
04:22There are no costs OFF of the price, but no but not anymore.
04:24You can go on the price, but also if you are an lowering price, you can get on the price,
04:24you can get on the price, you can get back in the price and pay off the price.
04:24You can get on the price, no but to be a good price, no but to be a good price.
04:24But, I mean, a lot of US, a lot of US, it is good for $2.60 a bit more
04:25than $3.50 a cut too.
04:25And I think, I mean, it's a bit only $3.30 a bit more than that, we won't live on
04:25the price while.
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