Australia minister warns against 'dangerous' price gouging of fuel
Australia's energy minister warned on Friday against "dangerous" price gouging of petrol as he relaxed rules on how much fuel companies needed to hold in stock in a bid to boost supply. The country -- reliant on oil imports for fuel -- has seen petrol prices spike due to panic buying since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East. In a push to boost supply, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the government would slash the Minimum Stockholding Obligation -- which guarantees a baseline level of fuel stock -- for petrol and diesel by 20 percent.
"This will allow the release of up to 762 million litres of petrol and diesel from Australia's domestic reserves, where these can be targeted towards localised market disruption," he said in a statement. "This will take time to move through Australia's long and complex supply chain from where fuel is held to the regional areas where it's needed," he said. Australia's government has blamed price gouging by retailers for rising domestic costs of fuel.
Bowen said on Friday: "I ask Australians to buy as much fuel as you need. No more, no less." He said people selling fuel at inflated prices were engaging in actions that were "un-Australian" and "dangerous". "It shouldn't be done," he said. In the most populous state of New South Wales, police warned rural residents on Friday about increasing fuel theft as prices rose. Police are investigating the disappearance of 800 litres of diesel from a farm in the state's west. "Be aware of any vehicles that you may not recognise in your local community," said detective acting inspector Andrew Maclean.
Meanwhile, the government has insisted the country's fuel supply is secure. On Thursday, Canberra said it would adjust fuel quality standards to allow higher sulphur levels for around two months in a move it said would release 100 million litres into the domestic supply. Oil prices on Thursday topped $100 a barrel again after Iranian attacks on shipping effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz -- a response to the US-Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
