Tasmanian motorists have paid about $370,000 more than they should have for petrol in the past 24 hours says the state's peak motoring body.
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The average cost of petrol per litre in Launceston was $1.49 on Wednesday, compared to $1.31 in Melbourne.
RACT chief executive officer Mark Mugnaioni said the wholesale price per litre was 97.8 cents.
""Given what motorists are being forced to pay, in the past 24 hours Tasmanian motorists have paid nearly $370,000 more than they should for petrol at the bowser," he said.
"The RACT believes the retail price should be around the $1.12 cost per litre mark.
"While we are seeing fuel retailers in some locations dropping their price, we are not seeing prices come down anywhere near enough across the state."
The cheapest unleaded fuel near the city was at Hadspen, Hagley, Westbury and Deloraine.
However Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association chief executive officer Mark McKenzie said Tasmania had always had slightly higher prices mainly due to the smaller market size.
He said the cost of retailing the fuel depended on a station's size and prices varied between eight and 14 cents per litre in the state.
"It is important to remember that fuel can sit in the ground in a service station, particularly low volume sites for two weeks which means that today's wholesale price is not the price that the servo paid for the fuel that is in the ground," he said.
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"When prices fall quickly, this problem is compounded as is occurring now and the problem is further compounded by falling demand due to people travelling less due to COVID-19.
"That means the expensive stock is in the ground longer than usual."
He said the cost of retailing the fuel depended on a station's size and prices varied between eight and 14 cents per litre in the state.
Mr Mugnaioni said RACT was continuing to push for a real time fuel price legislation for the state.
"It is clear, as evidenced by current conditions, that there is retail market failure and we are confident that the case has been made to introduce the change," he said.
Mr McKenzie said the association had no objections to real-time price monitoring.
He said it was relevant in states where the retail price varied due to petrol price cycles but that did not occur in Tasmania.
"These laws simply make prices as transparent in the digital world as they are in the physical world - there is no evidence anywhere in the world that says these laws lower prices," he said.
