Drivers urged to fill up tanks

Melton and Moorabool motorists are being urged to take advantage of a 12-month low in petrol prices.

At some petrol stations, motorists are paying less than a dollar per litre for unleaded fuel.

RACV vehicle engineering manager Michael Case said now was a good time for people to fill their tanks, with the average price as low as 101.5 cents per litre on Friday.

Mr Case said if prices continued to fall, fuel would be at its lowest price since January 2009.

“The wholesale price for petrol has fallen to almost a dollar per litre due to reductions in the international benchmark price for refined petrol,” Mr Case said.

While there are no signs of a price spike in Melbourne any time soon, Mr Case said, fuel prices had recently risen in Adelaide and prices were starting to climb in Brisbane and Sydney.

“The price for petrol in Melton is similar to the Melbourne metropolitan price,” he said. “The regional average [on Thursday] was 118 cents per litre so petrol prices in Melton are relatively low.”

Melton worker Ellen Camilleri filled up her tank for $30 – it can normally cost anywhere between $40 and $50. She paid 99.9 cents per litre at Melton South.

“It was so cheap,” Ms Camilleri said. “The bills are high, everything else is really expensive, but wages are staying the same. So I feel it’s fantastic to have a little bit more money to go … to maybe have a cup of coffee with my husband.”