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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
Peter Brewer

The strange case of much cheaper fuel just across the border

Canberra had the highest fuel prices across all capital cities this week as the Australian Tax Office's excise on fuel rose another 0.5 cents per litre from February 5.

And if you plan to fill up soon, then head just across the border where you could save as much as 20 cents a litre - even when buying from the same retailer.

Independent monitoring company FuelWatch Australia reported on Friday that Canberra's regular 91-octane unleaded was priced at $2.10 per litre.

Melbourne was the second most expensive capital city at $2.05 per litre, followed by Sydney ($1.99), Brisbane ($1.97) and Hobart ($1.95).

Canberra's fuel was the most expensive of all the capital cities this week. Picture by Karleen Minney/ supplied

Similar high costs in the ACT were recorded by the NRMA's Fuel Watch on Friday, with the two Metro stations in Fyshwick pricing their 91 unleaded at $199.9 per litre.

But most curiously, exactly the same fuel at the Metro Petroleum station on Tharwa Rd, Queanbeyan was $1.79 per litre.

Predictably, high-volume, low-margin retailer Costco at Majura was by far the cheapest fuel dispenser in our local region with ULP91 at $1.74, 98 RON premium at $1.95 and diesel at $1.85.

For premium (95 Octane) pump fuel, Canberra was the second highest at $2.23, just behind Brisbane at $2.25.

READ ALSO: Testing our 'unbreakable' appetite for useful but high-emitting utes

However, there is good news ahead on pricing, according to the NRMA which predicted a fall to the "mid-180s cents per litre over the next 3-4 weeks".

Multiple factors affect pricing including rising wholesale costs through the petroleum supply chain, China's slowing economy (and buying fewer Australian commodities), and the falling value of the Australian dollar against the US, which is the trading currency for all oil-based products.

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