Fuel prices reached a four-year high in August and an industry heavyweight predicted unleaded fuel would reach more than 160 cents per litre (cpl) in Warrnambool “without a doubt” in the coming weeks. 

APCO director Peter Anderson also predicted the cost of diesel would continue to rise for consumers. 

Most Warrnambool fuel outlets were selling unleaded petrol at 157.9 cpl on Tuesday with the lowest price at APCO at 152.9 cpl.

There was more variation in diesel across the city with prices ranging from 164.9 cpl to 155.9 cpl.

Mr Anderson has APCO outlets across across the state in areas including Warrnambool, Bendigo, Ballarat, Wodonga and Bairnsdale. 

His prices at APCO Warrnambool on Tuesday was 152.9 cpl for unleaded petrol, compared to 142 cpl a fortnight ago. “It just depends what my competitors do from there as to what I do next,” he said.

"Warrnambool, I would think, is going to go northward of 150 (cpl) somewhere to 160 (cpl) without any doubt,” Mr Anderson said. "It's more likely to go up than down.”

He said APCO Geelong was priced at 158.9 cpl on Tuesday, while his Geelong competitors were as high 165.9 cpl.

The RACV said the highest metro price in the state for unleaded fuel on Tuesday was 177.7 cpl, the lowest was 140.7 cpl and the average was 160 cpl.

The RACV said prices for unleaded fuel around the south-west varied with Camperdown’s price up to 153.7 cpl, Hamilton up to 158.7 cpl, and Portland up to 158.7. No figures were available for Koroit, Port Fairy or Terang. 

Mr Anderson said the price hike was due to the increased cost of crude oil, the low Australian dollar and other international factors. 

“Petrol prices are still continuing to rise which is a worry. I don’t know where it’s going to finish.

“My costs are rising all the time and unfortunately I have to recover it in the market where I can.”

He said country Victorian sites sold a smaller volume of fuel, yet their costs were higher.

Warrnambool’s McNeil’s BP owner Noel McNeil said it was unusual for Warrnambool’s bowser prices to be less than Melbourne and Geelong’s, which could swing between five to 15 cents per litre each week due to a more competitive market.

Mr McNeil said Warrnambool’s prices had gone up by five or six cents in the past month but remained fairly steady. The cost of unleaded fuel at his BP outlet on Tuesday was 154.9 cpl. 

Mr McNeil said fuel prices affected everyone and they were moving gradually rather than in big swings like Melbourne. 

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said petrol prices in regional locations were “generally higher than” and “more stable” than the five capital cities which moved in cycles. Yet interestingly, currently it’s not the case. 

“Normally our prices are a bit dearer than Melbourne,” Mr McNeil said. “But lately Melbourne can be dearer than us. There’s these price swings you never used to see.

"Melbourne prices can be three or four cents above us. The swings in prices are just amazing. It's a different pattern to what it used to be. 

“Each week it swings around. It might go up for a few days and then come down for a few days. That's gone on for years but not the big swings (we’re seeing in the cities) for some reason.”

In Warrnambool, the price of unleaded petrol jumped from 140 cpl to 149.7 cpl between March and June this year. ​

The monthly average price increased by about seven percent at bowsers in Portland, Hamilton and Colac, with the highest price sitting at 152.1 cpl in Portland in June. 

An RACV spokeswoman said fuel prices had been influenced by an underlying increase in oil prices. “The increased oil prices has a flow on effect which extends to the wholesale price of refined petrol, and subsequently the prices we see at the pump,” she said. 

RACV’s advice is to shop around and use its fuel watch website to find the best value. “Fuel is essential for most people so an increase really affects the family budget. As a general guide, regular searches for the cheapest fuel can save motorists hundreds of dollars per year,” she said.