Jim Chalmers warns petrol stations over gouging motorists amid oil price spike related to Middle East conflict

Jim Chalmers has warned petrol station owners not to take drivers for mugs as oil prices spike because of conflict in the Middle East.

The Treasurer also warned that sustained high global prices could push inflation up, making the government and Reserve Bank’s jobs harder as they seek to continue easing the pressure on households.

“The situation in the Middle East is very concerning and we are focused primarily on the human cost of the conflict in the Middle East, but there are also economic consequences for the escalation of the conflict there,” Dr Chalmers said on Thursday.

Oil prices have jumped 7 per cent over the past week amid fears Israel may strike Iran’s oil facilities or that retaliatory attacks could lead to all-out war in the region.

Dr Chalmers said petrol prices had been “much lower in the last little while” than over recent years and while the short-term spike was understandable, he warned against price gouging.

“Obviously, we are concerned at a time when the global oil price is increasing, we don’t want to see the service stations take Australian motorists for mugs,” he said.

“People are under enough pressure already. We don’t want to see the service stations do the wrong thing by people.”

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said the watchdog kept a close eye on petrol prices and regularly reported them to the public and the Treasurer.

“The monitoring does allow very clear scrutiny and absolute shining of the light for consumers,” she said.

Dr Chalmers said the rule of thumb for Australia was that a 10 per cent increase in the barrel price of oil, if sustained for a year, would lead to a 0.4 percentage point increase in Australia’s consumer price index.