Toowoomba topped the RACQ’s list of most expensive regional centres for fuel in 2023.

RACQ’s analysis revealed eight out of the ten largest regional centres posted record high average unleaded prices for 2023.

Toowoomba emerged as the most expensive, charging 187 cents per litre (cpl).

Locals still have it better than residents of smaller towns in the Queensland outback, such as Longreach, where the average price in 2023 was 213.1cpl.

RACQ’s Principal Economic and Affordability Specialist Dr Ian Jeffreys said Bundaberg motorists got the best deal for fuel.

“Despite reaching a record price for unleaded petrol, Bundaberg was still the cheapest large regional centre with drivers paying 178.6cpl in 2023,” Dr Jeffreys said.

“Only Cairns and Mackay didn’t break records for average unleaded prices in 2023.”

The record high daily average price, 220.5cpl, from 25 June 2022 was not beaten in 2023.

Likewise, June 2022 still remains the month with the record high average price, 205.2cpl.

Dr Jeffreys said international factors were the biggest contributor to higher prices.

“The war in Ukraine, OPEC+ production cuts and conflict in the Middle East pushed up global oil prices.

“That, paired with a weaker Australian dollar, saw petrol prices surge across Queensland in 2023,” he said.

Interestingly, Dr Jeffreys said the average indicative retail margins were significantly low across regional Queensland.

“The indicative retail margin estimates how much service stations charged motorists on top of the wholesale price they purchased the fuel for,” Dr Jeffreys said.

“Across nearly all of Queensland’s large regional centres, motorists were paying around 5cpl or less in indicative retail margins.

“It’s encouraging to see that fuel companies did not use international factors as an excuse to boost profits from regional motorists.”

This article appeared in On Our Selection News, on 1 February 2024.