NEWCASTLE petrol prices are both higher and rising faster than those in Sydney, an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission report released on Tuesday reveals.
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The ACCC report shows price growth between March and June put the Hunter’s already higher prices on a steeper rise than their capital city counterparts.
Hunter areas included among the 190 regional locations where it monitors prices all showed average prices grew by double digits during that quarter.
Newcastle’s average petrol price rose 16.7 cents per litre in three months, jumping from 138.6 cents a litre to 155.3 cents.
Muswellbrook’s average jumped 22.6 cents to 158 cents in the same window while Singleton climbed 16.5 cents to 158.6 cents per litre.
Sydney’s average of 130.1 cents per litre in March rose to 145.4 cents per litre for June, a 15.3-cent spike.
The Hunter figures compare to an annual average retail petrol price of 134.5 cents per litre in the five largest capital cities last financial year.
“After adjusting for inflation over time, this was the highest annual average price since 2014-2014 (140.4 cents per litre),” the report states.
The ACCC notes price cycles displayed in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth “do not generally occur in the smaller capital cities or in most regional locations”.
“Prices are generally higher in regional locations,” the report states. “A number of factors may contribute to these higher prices, including a lower level of local competition, lower volumes of fuel sold, distance/location factors and lower convenience store sales.
“While retail petrol prices in regional locations generally follow movements in the international price of refined petrol, they often do not respond as quickly – either up or down – as prices in the five largest cities.”
Brisbane had the highest retail prices among capital cities for the June quarter with an average retail price of 148.4 cents per litre.