Swift service station owner Paul Seaman, who has long enjoyed the status of selling Wagga’s cheapest petrol, said there was upward pressure on prices. 

“I don’t think anyone can guarantee the prices will stay down,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter what the price is though, I still have to buy it and I think that’s the situation with most people.

“If you have to drive, you have to pay whatever price is out there.”

The national petrol supply has dipped to such a low that it has prompted some in federal parliament to call for a review.

As of the announcement on Tuesday, Australia has just 22 days worth of crude oil, 59 days of LPG, 20 days of petrol, 19 days of aviation fuel, and 21 days of diesel.

Each supply is well below the 90-day surplus Australia is required to hold under the International Energy Agency agreement.

In Wagga, the average price of unleaded petrol was 145.3 cents a litre on Wednesday, while diesel was selling at an average of 145.8 cents.

Anthony Pleming, who owns and operates Collin Couriers in East Wagga, said he was watching the prices closely.

“Most freight companies work on an index, where the levy will increase or decrease depending on fuel prices,” he said.

“If fuel increases, [freight] prices increase, especially for those companies doing long trips.”

The cost is likely to become much more pronounced for long haul freighters, which won’t affect Mr Pleming’s business too greatly.

“How much we spend on fuel each month would be much less than [other] companies that have much bigger vehicles and do much longer travel, across state borders usually,” he said.

“[The fuel price] will probably have less impact on us since we mostly [service] the Riverina area.”

It is the diesel prices that has piqued Mr Seaman concerned too.

“I’m a small operation so I’ve got small overhead [costs], so I can keep prices very competitive, but that means I sometimes have to operate at a loss,” Mr Seaman said.

“I don’t have a pump out the back, I can’t dictate the prices.

“Freight [is] usually a constant [price], but when diesel gets dearer, freight gets dearer, and that’s what I’ll have to be paying.”

Swift purchases its supply through United Petroleum, the independent wholesaler based in Victoria.

It means Mr Seaman has to pay for the petrol to be transported across the NSW border.

With fuel prices averaging between two and 10 cents higher in Melbourne compared to Wagga, Mr Seaman is expecting he will be paying a high cost for his supply.

Despite the national price hike, Mr Seaman is still confident he will be able to retain his reputation as the best price in town.

“As long as I stay competitive, we’ll get the customers,” he said.

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