Petrol prices rise again as Albanese government warns Iran war ceasefire won’t make fuel cheaper

Australian minister for energy and climate change, Chris Bowen, has said fuel prices will come down when the US war on Iran ends. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP View image in fullscreen Australian minister for energy and climate change, Chris Bowen, has said fuel prices will come down when the US war on Iran ends. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP Petrol prices rise again as Albanese government warns Iran war ceasefire won’t make fuel cheaper Chris Bowen says Australians should ‘not get ahead of ourselves’ by expecting prices to fall Track current petrol and diesel prices across Australia Petrol prices are rising again and diesel wholesale prices have hit new record highs as the government warns the US ceasefire with Iran will not make fuel cheaper. The average unleaded prices at service stations rose in some cities on Wednesday for the first time since late March, as fuel tankers hiked their charges. Oil prices fell as traders bet the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz would help fuel supply resume but the energy minister, Chris Bowen, told reporters Australians should “not get ahead of ourselves”. “People shouldn’t take today’s progress and expect prices to fall,” Bowen said. “We welcome progress, but I don’t think we can say the [Strait of Hormuz is] now open.” Bowen said the governments’ temporary 32-cent a litre cut to fuel tax would stay in place until July even if petrol prices fall before then, leaving the door open to extending it further. “We will assess the situation closer to the end of that three months … we hope things improve by then,” he said. “Fuel prices will come down when this war ends.” Unleaded prices rose to 227 cents a litre in Perth, 225.7 cents in Hobart and 223.9 in Canberra on Wednesday, according to MotorMouth. Diesel prices have surged to average about 319 cents a litre around the country. Costs at the service station have followed crude oil prices pushing up the costs charged by fuel tankers. Diesel wholesale prices on Wednesday morning leapt 20 cents to a new record of 320 cents a litre, Australian Institute of Petroleum data showed. Unleaded wholesale prices jumped 4 cents a litre higher on Wednesday, AIP data showed. They had fallen 40 cents a litre for unleaded petrol in late March, helped by the excise cut, while diesel had fallen 12 cents a litre. Bowen said unusually high purchasing of fuel had persisted into April, with demand 30% higher over the Easter weekend in 2026 compared to 2025. “Fuel’s going out the door at rapid rates, I mean, massive increases to demand, particularly for diesel,” he said. Fuel supply was still secured into May and deals would soon be announced under the government’s plan to underwrite fuel shipments through Export Finance Australia, he said. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese will travel to Singapore on Thursday to meet the country’s prime minister, Lawrence Wong, with fuel expected to be high on the agenda. Singapore is Australia’s largest source of refined fuel. The Albanese government has been engaging with partners through Asia and beyond to shore up fuel supplies, with reports Japan’s prime minister could visit Australia in coming weeks and expectations Albanese may soon visit other regional fuel exporters. The government is understood to be leveraging Australia’s supplies of natural gas, which are important to partners through Asia, to ensure oil and fuel supplies continue to flow. “One of the things about Australia is that we are a reliable supplier of energy, particularly for north Asia, for Japan, for South Korea, but also supplying LNG to Singapore, to Malaysia. And we expect reciprocal arrangements,” Albanese said on Sky News. “And what is occurring at the moment is we’re reaching out to our partners in the region, making sure that that is emphasised, our common interests that we have. This issue, a global crisis, is impacting economies right around our region and around the world. And it’s important that partners continue to work together and that’s what we’re working towards.” Albanese welcomed news of the ceasefire, saying the effects of America’s military offensive on Iran were hurting Australians. “We’re already seeing a substantial impact of a war which is on the other side of the world, but is having an impact on Australians here, like it is on citizens throughout the world,” he said on Sky. “This is very positive, and we hope that it leads to a permanent de-escalation and an end to the conflict, and a resolution that allows the world to go forward.” In a written statement on the ceasefire, Albanese and the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong said “the longer the war goes on, the more significant the impact on the global economy will be, and the greater the human cost”. Explore more on these topics Petrol prices Iran news Share Reuse this content