Six weeks after the federal government promised cost of living relief by halving the fuel excise, petrol prices are on the rise again with diesel leading the charge.
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On Monday, the average price of unleaded petrol (U91) in Orange was 182.88 cents per litre, up 18 cents per litre since April 19.
The average diesel price was 207.04, up by 24 cents per litre.
The price rises are eroding the temporary excise cut announced in the budget, which saw the tax dropped from 44.2 cents per litre to 22.1 cents for a period of six months.
Last month, when the U91 price fell to an average of 170.1 cents per litre in Orange, the NRMA said prices had stabilised and predicted further falls.
Unfortunately for motorists, those predictions have failed to materialise.
A range of global issues are being blamed for the new price surge, including the ongoing COVID lockdown in China; a planned embargo on Russian oil by the world's seven biggest economies (G7), and a proposed phased oil embargo of Russian oil by the European Commission.
Research shows those in country areas are 36 percent more likely to drive a diesel vehicle than the average Australian, so soaring diesel prices are hitting regional motorists with a double whammy. Not only are their fuel costs rising, they're also paying for the rising price of diesel in their grocery bills and other expenses.
Manufacturing, mining, transport and business fleets all run on diesel so any price increases are being passed on to the consumer.
Historical averages show the price gap between diesel and unleaded has averaged six to eight cents per litre for the past decade, but this has blown out to 24 cents per litre in Orange.
An NRMA spokesperson says the widening gap is because the diesel and unleaded markets are different.
"The relative cost of diesel is 13.1 cents per litre more expensive than regular unleaded in the Asian market and this has flowed through to Australia," she said.
A particularly cold winter in the Northern Hemisphere and the use of diesel for heating also increased demand and pushed prices up.
"Diesel has been more expensive than regular petrol in Australia for a while now and the gap seems to be widening which is impacting on already stretched family budgets especially in the regions," she said.
A drop in fuel prices is not expected in the near future.
"Unfortunately given current trends things are not looking very positive because of the volatility of the global markets and our reliance on fuel from overseas.
"This is a particularly difficult time for families and prices will not be dropping any time soon," the spokesperson said.
AVERAGE FUEL PRICES IN ORANGE
Unleaded 91: 182.88 (up 18 cents since April 19)
Diesel: 207.04 (up 24 cents since April 19)
Cheapest unleaded: 175.9 (Ampol Orange Diesel Stop, Elsham Avenue)
Cheapest diesel: 202.9 (Metro Lucknow)
SOURCES: fuelcheck.nsw.gov.au/fuelprice.io
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