Brisbane [E10](/fuel/e10) Drops Below Two Dollars While Mount Isa Pays 285 Cents and Queensland Fuel Prices Tell Two Very Different Stories
Right, so I've been watching Queensland fuel prices this week and honestly, it's like looking at two completely different countries. If you're in Brisbane right now, you're laughing. If you're out west or up in Far North Queensland, you're copping an absolute hiding.
Here's the thing, right. E10 in Lutwyche has dropped to 199.5 cents a litre. Let that sink in for a second. Under two bucks. U Go Lutwyche is doing the right thing by locals and it's dragging the competition down with it. Just up the road in Bracken Ridge, U Go is sitting at 199.9 cents for E10 as well. And Acacia Ridge is not far behind at 201.5 cents thanks to Pearl Energy.
Now, you'd be mad not to fill up if you're anywhere near those servos. We haven't seen sub two dollar E10 in Brisbane for a while, and it won't last forever. These prices tend to bounce back up within a few days once the cycle kicks in.
Unleaded is following the same trend in the metro area. Lutwyche ULP is at 203.5 cents, Bracken Ridge at 203.9, and Acacia Ridge sitting around 205 cents. If your car runs E10 and you're filling a 60 litre tank, you're saving about three bucks compared to standard unleaded. That's a coffee every fill up, which adds up over a year.
But mate, drive about 1,700 kilometres northwest to Mount Isa and it's a completely different story. Unleaded out there is sitting between 279.9 and 284.9 cents. That's a solid 80 cents more per litre than what Brisbane drivers are paying. On a 60 litre tank, that's $48 extra every time you pull up to the bowser. Fair dinkum, that's your weekly grocery top up just going straight into the fuel tank.
And it gets worse the further out you go. Cooktown has unleaded ranging from 269.5 cents at the Mobil right up to a staggering 385.9 cents at Armbrust and Co General Store. That's a 116 cent spread within the same town. Now, I reckon the general store probably has limited supply and extra transport costs, but 385.9 cents is taking the absolute mick.
Worth keeping an eye on is Hervey Bay on the Fraser Coast. Unleaded has dropped to 223.5 cents at Ampol Foodary and United, which is genuinely cheap for regional Queensland. If you're heading up the coast for Easter, that's a good spot to fill up before the prices get silly further north.
Warwick is another interesting one. Shell Reddy Express has unleaded at 217.9 cents, but Caltex in the same town is charging 259.9 cents. That's a 42 cent difference between servos you could literally drive between in five minutes. If you're not checking prices before you fill up in Warwick, you could be throwing away 25 bucks on a full tank.
Down in Cairns, the southern suburbs are where the action is. Woree has unleaded at 228.5 cents thanks to Liberty and United both competing hard. That's about 30 cents cheaper than the Shell in central Cairns. So if you're a local, it's worth the drive south.
The Queensland state average for unleaded is sitting at 254.3 cents, which puts it roughly in line with NSW at 259.8 and Victoria at 259.4. But those averages hide the massive gap between the coast and the outback. Brisbane metro is pulling the average down while places like Mount Isa and Cooktown are paying through the nose.
Look, end of the day, if you're in southeast Queensland right now, fill up your tank. Sub two dollar E10 in Brisbane doesn't come around every week. If your car can run E10 and you're not already using it, now's a good time to make the switch and save a few bucks. For the folks out west, I wish I had better news, but the tyranny of distance isn't going anywhere. Can't argue with that.
