Petrol prices in biggest fall for six years

From CommSec:

According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the national average Australian price of petrol fell by 4.0 cents per litre to a 4-year low of 128.4 cents a litre in the week to December 21. The fall in the petrol price over the last month was the biggest decline for an equivalent period in 6 years…

Today, the national average wholesale (terminal gate) unleaded petrol price stands at a 4-year low (lowest since October 4 2010) of 112.18 cents per litre, down 4 cents a litre in the past week. The terminal gate price has fallen by over 17 cents a litre in the past five weeks.

Compared with a year ago, the average Aussie household is saving $32 a month on petrol, boosting spending power at this key time of the year.

The number of diesel motor vehicles has soared by 62 per cent over the past five years but they still only account for 19 per cent of all vehicles. Still, the gross retail margin on diesel fuel stands at almost 23c a litre, compared with 14c for petrol vehicles. Clearly owners of diesel vehicles have greater reason to agitate for better terms…