Sydney vendors were offering unleaded for as low as $1.40 a litre on Friday, but Forster’s average price over the same week was $1.60.

The NRMA’s Peter Khoury said the difference was “unacceptable”. “Five weeks ago when prices were peaking, the city and country prices were almost the same,” he said.

“Now when the prices come down, they only come down in the city. People in Forster should not be paying 20 cents a litre more than people in Sydney. That’s unacceptable and unfair.”

Service Stations Association CEO Ron Bowden said the criticism overlooked the vastly more competitive nature of city markets.

“This story’s been run a million times, so I’ll say this for the millionth time - in the city you have a price cycle. In the country, you don’t,” he said.

“At the top of the cycle, which is on a Wednesday in Sydney, the price difference between the city and the country is very little. But on cheap Tuesdays, which you don’t get in the bush, the difference can be 10 or 15 cents a litre. It’s nothing new.”

He said the latest criticism of oil companies was part of NRMA president Alan Evans’ re-election campaign.

“It’s typical Alan Evans. He gets in the media and bags retailers and oil companies, but he’s deliberately distorting the facts,” Mr Bowden said.

“He bases his claims on the price of crude in New York, which is an infinitesimally small percentage of the world’s crude. The Singapore market is the one relevant to Australia, and even if the New York price has gone down $30 a barrel, Singapore’s only gone down $24 a barrel.”

Mr Koury said Mr Bowden was twisting the facts.

“We’re talking about prices at the bowser, and how Forster people are paying 20 cents more than Sydney people. It’s irrelevant comparing overseas markets, and dishonest,” he said.

“We’ve been campaigning for over four years on the price fixing issue, so who cares if there’s an [NRMA] election soon? If Mr Bowden can’t handle that, too bad.”

The NRMA’s Daniel Stanton said oil company claims that a fall in the Australian dollar significantly negated falling crude prices was incorrect.

“The fall in the dollar would only account for [hiking pump prices] 5 to 10 per cent, so only a few cents,” he said.

Crude oil plunged below US$120 a barrel last week for the first time since May, pushing down the Australian wholesale price.

Call for Petrol Commissioner to reign in NSW country pump prices: Story page 2