ACCC report into unleaded petrol prices

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) has released its report into unleaded petrol prices which has concluded "that the unleaded petrol industry in Australia is fundamentally competitive. There is no obvious evidence of price fixing or collusion between the major participants in the industry".

The Minister for Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs, Chris Bowen, has outlined three measures as part of the government's preliminary response to the report. They include:

• Writing to the ACCC giving it formal monitoring powers over petrol prices;
• Making the ACCC report to the government every year on its monitoring;
• Beginning the search process for a Petrol Commissioner and writing to all of the State and Territory leaders seeking their input on possible candidates for the role.

The inquiry found that there was 'no obvious evidence of price fixing or collusion between the major participants in the industry' and 'fundamental pricing of petrol is dictated by international factors'.

However, it also found that:

• The major refiners have established 'a comfortable oligopoly', with the Australian industry being relatively concentrated.
• There are 'significant impediments to the large-scale importing of petrol by parties other than refiner-marketers, resulting in very little independent importing'.
• The 'well-defined price cycles in Australia's retail unleaded petrol markets are an enigma' and the ACCC was not given a satisfactory explanation of divergences in prices between Australia and price decreases in Singapore.