Lloyd questions high fuel prices

Member for Robertson Mr Jim Lloyd has called on the major fuel companies to account for excessive petrol prices on the Peninsula in the week ending November 2.

The Shell and BP service stations on the corner of Rawson Rd and Ocean Beach Rd, Woy Woy, sold unleaded fuel at 96.9 cents per litre on Friday, October 31.

Mr Lloyd said that Central Coast petrol prices remained "excessively high" in the week ending November 2 despite the fact that world oil prices have dropped significantly and the Australian dollar is at a six-year high.

"Currently the average price of petrol in the Gosford City is in the high 90 cents per litre while world oil prices have dropped to $28.50 a barrel from a recent high of over $33.

"The Australian dollar is now well over 70 cents and it is my understanding that local fuel prices are effected by one cent for every movement of a dollar in international oil prices, and every one cent increase in the Australian dollar.

"On this basis local fuel prices should have decreased by six to eight cents in recent days.

"It is amazing how quickly these multinational oil companies seem to increase prices when world oil prices increase," he said.

However, when the reverse happened, local fuel prices did not decrease, he said.

Mr Lloyd said that he wrote to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission seeking assistance in ensuring that Central Coast motorists received a fair deal from the major fuel companies.

Cec Bucello, November 14