Real cost of Trump’s war with Iran on Australian motorists revealed

• Australians have paid an extra $549 per person for fuel since the war in Iran began, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
• Only the US and Canada have faced higher per-person costs, against a global average of about $85.
• Countries that have cut fuel use since 2023, including China and Germany, have softened the blow.

The war in Iran has added $549 to the fuel bill of every Australian, the third-highest per-person cost in the world.

Fresh analysis by the independent research organisation Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) found that Australian drivers trail only the US and Canada in how much the war has added to bowser prices.

Americans have paid $670 per person and Canadians $600, compared with a global average of about $85 per person, according to the report.

The ranking shows how exposed Australia’s car-dependent households remain to oil shocks, with CREA finding countries that burn the most fuel per person and rely heavily on cars have copped the steepest costs.

It also lands a day before the September quarter inflation figures are released, and a week before the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) hands down its November 3 interest rate decision.

A $666 billion global bill

Comparing pump prices from March 1 to October 14 with January and February levels, CREA found the war has added about $666 billion to fuel bills worldwide.

The US has paid the largest share, about $228 billion, followed by China at $77 billion and Canada at $24 billion.

Diesel prices are typically up by a third and have climbed in 149 of the 169 countries studied, while petrol is up by more than a fifth.

CREA said a refining shortage has compounded higher crude prices, as disruption in the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian strikes took Gulf refineries off the market and Ukrainian attacks hit Russia’s refining capacity.

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“The lesson is clear: the best protection against volatile oil prices isn’t pumping more oil, it’s needing less of it,” CREA co-founder Lauri Myllyvirta said in the report.

Countries that have reduced fuel use since 2023 have trimmed their bills, with China saving about $15.4 billion and Germany about $5.3 billion.

In the US, the typical petrol car driver has paid an extra $626 since March, while the average electric vehicle (EV) driver has paid just $24 more for charging.

Petrol has been sitting at about $2.40 a litre and diesel at about $2.80 since the federal fuel excise discount wound up in early August, Westpac senior economist Justin Smirk said last week.

Westpac has also warned Brent crude could reach $US150 a barrel if the US resumes strikes on Iran after the midterm elections.

All figures converted from US dollars at the October 26 exchange rate.