But fill up now because the honeymoon won’t last, industry insiders say.

A combination of generous fuel gate terminal prices, strong local competition and low operating costs culminated in an average unleaded price of 108.4 cents a litre on Tuesday morning.

Number crunchers at fuel watchdog Motor Mouth say that figure’s the lowest in regional Australia – and far cheaper than much of the fuel sold in metropolitan centres.

Only drivers in Adelaide had access to cheaper unleaded petrol, with some outlets in the South Australian capital opening bowsers at 95 cents a litre.

As of Tuesday, Goulburn fuel suppliers were selling unleaded petrol at least 11 cents a litre cheaper than offered at the terminal gates in Sydney.

It’s that fact that has industry experts predicting a rise in prices across Goulburn.

Some suppliers had already lifted their prices by as much as nine cents a litre by Wednesday afternoon.

Even so, Southern Tablelands motorists are enjoying a purple patch.

A public affairs spokesman for Motor Mouth explained the equation behind fuel prices.

“A lot of it’s to do with the number of petrol stations in Goulburn compared with the population of the city,” the spokesman explained.

“If Goulburn is over-pumped, then you might get lower prices.

“Of course, it could just be the opposite to a perfect storm: you might be in a perfect sunshine.

You’ve got good competition and good stock right now. That could change.”

One factor unlikely to affect bowser prices is freight costs.

Caltex, Australia’s largest fuel supplier, delivers its stock to Goulburn by truck, not rail.

Cost of freight, therefore, is consistent with other major highway stopovers.

“Goulburn’s big enough to have its own demand and market, and it’s big enough to have through-traffic,” Caltex Australia’s communication adviser Sam Collyer explained.

“It’s on the way to Canberra and on the way to Sydney.”

While Mr Collyer conceded the affordable price of fuel was a “good news story”, he advised motorists to keep a level head.

Mr Collyer says regional providers take longer to both rise and drop their prices than their metropolitan cousins.

“It’s really dependant on local competition,” he said.

“Prices can be affected by local competition, operating costs and fuel gate prices.

“People always notice when Sydney prices go down quickly and theirs don’t, but they never complain when city prices rise and country prices don’t.”