Diesel prices have hit $2.67 per litre at some Tasmanian service stations as Middle East conflicts drive fuel market uncertainty across the state.
Peninsula Hardware in Nubeena posted to social media they are now out of unleaded and diesel, with a small amount of premium left, with a delivery of more fuel coming first thing in the morning on Thursday.
When contacted by Pulse, the owners said they’d rather not comment on running out of petrol, but said they “were over it”.
The most expensive unleaded petrol was recorded at the Westerway Roadhouse for $2.32, while the cheapest sat at $1.84 at the J&N Car Care service station in Triabunna.
Diesel prices averaged $2.36 per litre statewide, up six cents from yesterday.
For unleaded 91, the average price reached $2.13, climbing nearly two cents overnight and jumping 35 cents from a month ago.
The cheapest unleaded 91 was $1.85 at J&N Car Care at Triabunna Service Station.
RACT has strongly advised motorists against panic-buying and stockpiling fuel.
RACT General Manager Advocacy and Government Relations, Mel Percival, said that there is no need to panic buy or stockpile fuel.
“We fully appreciate that rising petrol prices are causing anxiety and adding to household cost of living pressures, however we are concerned by reports of people stockpiling fuel,” Ms Percival said.
“Tasmania has adequate supplies of fuel at this time,”
She said stockpiling fuel is a safety issue and is dangerous to store in large quantities in a home garage.
“Panic buying can make the problem worse because fuel stations place orders based on what they expect to sell,” she said.
“Unexpected spikes in sales due to panic buying can leave the fuel station short, which impacts other motorists.”
“This can result in the fuel stations needing to order a special delivery to make up the shortfall, which is often more expensive, further driving up prices.”
She said fuel has a shelf life of around three months, so stockpiling is not an effective solution to current price increases.
Ms Percival said RACT was aware of reports of price gouging and opportunistic behaviour by petrol retailers in NSW and QLD last week.
“We welcome the Federal Government’s direction to the ACCC to be ultra vigilant in its monitoring and identification of price gouging behaviour.
“We are keeping a very close eye on the Tasmanian market and over the long weekend we did see a jump in Tasmanian prices.”
Nathan Thurlow from Tas Petroleum said wholesale prices were rising across all oil companies.
“We’ve been seeing movements bigger than we saw back when COVID hit,” he said.
Thurlow warned against panic buying, saying it would only worsen the situation.
“They definitely shouldn’t … all that’s doing is making it worse,” he said.
At the Buckland Store, customer service worker Abbey Boxall said fuel deliveries were shrinking while costs climbed.
“We’ve definitely had a lot of people coming and filling up and then taking as much extra as they can,” she said.
“The deliveries are getting a little bit smaller in the amount, so they’re trying to spread the fuel out between service stations.”
Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen urged calm, saying Australia had good fuel reserves.
“There is no need to rush to the service station and fill up,” he said.
