There is expected to be no relief for South East residents feeling the pinch at the pump as fuel prices continue to skyrocket.

The price of fuel has risen 16% this year including the 24 cents (inc GST) excise cut on fuel which is due to expire on September 28.

RAA senior mobility manager Mark Borelace warns if the excise cut is stopped, by the end of September consumers could be paying 24 cents more per litre.

“In Mount Gambier fuel has averaged $1.85 a litre so if the excise cut is stopped people could be looking at paying upwards of $2.09 for fuel on average,” he said.

“Mount Gambier has probably been pretty good through this because the 17 service stations makes fuel prices in the area quite competitive.

“The applications around now make it easy to find cheaper fuel, particularly if you are travelling between towns.

“We have been encouraging people in the regions to start thinking about things like carpooling to at least save money that way.”

Mr Borelace says the rising price of fuel is a worldwide problem.

“We thought it would have decreased by now but it just seems to be continuing along at the pace it is, so it is very much determined by what is happening in the world now with the conflict in Ukraine,” he said.

“We will get to see whether some of the Ukrainian effects start to decline but there’s a general demand for all energy sources.

“It is symptomatic of a whole shake up in the world’s energy supply because once you remove someone like Russia who produces 10% of the world’s oil you start to see all these ripple effects.

“There’s not much that politicians or policymakers inside of Australia can change, we really are at the mercy of the world oil price now.”