Australia's retail petrol prices trend downward but still relatively high: report

SYDNEY, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Australia's consumer watchdog reported on Tuesday that retail petrol prices in the country's five largest cities remained relatively high in the December quarter of 2023 despite a fall of 0.7 cents per liter (cpl).

According to the latest quarterly petrol monitoring report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), quarterly average retail petrol prices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth dropped to 194.9 cpl.

However, they were still at relatively high levels after hitting the record high of 195.6 cpl in nominal terms in the September quarter of 2023.

Meanwhile, the five largest cities in Australia also saw a drop in their monthly average retail petrol prices, down from 206.6 cpl in September 2023 to 186.6 cpl in December 2023.

The report noted that changes in Australian retail petrol prices were predominantly driven by international refined petrol prices.

As the price of refined petrol in the Asia-Pacific region, the price of Singapore Mogas 95 Unleaded is the relevant benchmark for petrol prices in Australia. In 2023's December quarter, both crude oil and Mogas 95 prices were lower than the previous quarter.

But on a quarterly average basis, the impact of the lower Mogas 95 prices was partly offset by a lower Australian dollar-U.S. dollar exchange rate, higher wholesale costs and margins, and higher gross indicative retail differences.