The hike appeared to be an inner Brisbane phenomenon. In many of the outer suburbs, the average retail unleaded petrol price is 134.6 cents a litre.

But the Motormouth mapping of petrol prices also shows the price spike travelling along the major routes to Brisbane’s western suburbs.

Darwin and Hobart were experiencing a similar price spiral.

CommSec said the average Australian wholesale unleaded terminal gate price hit 13-month highs of 127.2 cents a litre yesterday, tempering hopes for a near-term reduction in local pump prices.

And Commsec said another price hike was looming ahead of the Easter long weekend.

“Average retail unleaded petrol prices hit 12-month highs today in all three cities (Brisbane, Darwin and Hobart), ranging between 135.2 cents a litre and 141.5 cents a litre,’’ CommSec said.

“Aussie petrol prices are broadly back at pre-pandemic levels with demand lifting as mobility increases due to the successful suppression of Covid-19,’’ CommSec said.

“The slowing of Covid-19 vaccine rollouts due to distribution fears and concerns over side effects also dampened hopes that fuel demand would recover quickly.

“Last week, Brent crude fell by 6.8 per cent – the biggest weekly drop since October 2020 – to $US64.53 a barrel.

“Brent crude futures in London have dropped over 1 per cent so far in trading (yesterday) suggesting that oil traders are unwinding their long positions in the commodity and booking profits with prices up over 25 per cent so far this year.

“The moves saw the Singapore gasoline price plunge by the most in 12 months last week, potentially providing some relief for importers of refined petroleum product. Ryan Felsman, Senior Economist, CommSec

The RACQ said a fair price today was about $1.25 a litre.

CommSec also said used car prices fell 1.9 per cent last week with ex-lease vehicle prices down 3.6 per cent.

“Stock, however, remains low with the market tightening a further 4 per cent last week.