WA fuel crisis: More pain at the pump as diesel set to soar amid Middle East conflict

The price of diesel has shot up yet again amid the ongoing Middle East conflict, with some motorists rushing to fill up on the back of predictions it will hike up even further.

The average cost to fill up a tank will shoot to a near-record 307 cents per litre on Monday, adding more financial pain to struggling West Australians.

But while the price may seem sky high, many drivers were in a hurry to pay it, with experts tipping it will become even more expensive this week because of the unprecedent surge in the cost of a barrel of gas oil.

It comes despite the Albanese Government slashing the fuel excise in half for urgent relief for motorists, with states waiving GST revenue on supply.

Construction worker Daniel Stevenson was among those at the servo on Sunday, filling his ute up before the expected hike.

“I don’t really understand though” he said.

“Aren’t these subsidies supposed to make it cheaper?”

University student Hattie Nickels was also rushing to get petrol in the tank, saying she was already scrambling to pick up extra shifts to be able to keep her car on the road.

“It used to cost maybe $90 a fortnight” (for a full tank) she said, “now it’s more like $150”

“Yeah, I can’t say I’m too happy but realistically what am I going to do?”

One petrol station employee feared what the rising prices would mean for their business, which has seen a staggering increase in fuel thefts since the crisis began.

“We are very vigilant about it these days,” the employee said.

“It’s gotten worse, people just fill up and drive off like nothing happened.”

Unleaded users will see a slight relief on Monday, with the average price per litre falling slightly to 222.9.

There are predictions the fuel crisis could get worse as the Middle East conflict sent the price of oil through the roof again over the weekend.

The barrel of gas oil — which is the international benchmark price for diesel — increased by an unprecedented $46 in just 24 hours, which is behind the pain already experienced at servos across the nation from Monday.

The NRMA’s Peter Khoury said on Saturday diesel hikes were in response to fears that the war could be escalating.

“Obviously, as we headed into the long weekend, we were hoping to see some stabilisation of gas oil,” he said.

“We saw the opposite with a $46-a-barrel jump overnight as a result of, well, things coming out of the United States in terms of commentary, but also what we saw with an escalation in Iran.”

Mr Khoury said the jump was “the largest on record” and signified a tripling in gas oil pricing since the start of the war.

The volatility around the daily fuel price is expected to persist and even after the war ends.

Already the inflationary pressure is biting with food suppliers making an urgent plea to supermarkets to hike up the price of locally-produced vegetables in a bid to offset their increased costs.

Industry group Ausveg have warned supermarkets that the crisis in the Middle East has seen overheads skyrocket – from the cost of fuel itself to how much producers are spending on vital resources like fertilisers.

Unless prices paid to growers are increased, the groups says that the availability of fresh Australian groceries will suffer.