With the deadline looming on whether Australians can expect an extended discount on runaway petrol prices, Anthony Albanese continues to play his cards close to his chest.
The fuel excise was cut by 32 cents a litre three months ago following the outbreak of war in the Middle East and ensuing strangulation of global oil supplies.
A tentative truce this week has allowed cargo ships to resume transiting more freely through the Strait of Hormuz, but the loss of fuel supplies triggered by hostilities could take months to recover.
How long the waterway stays open remains unclear.
Asked whether the government was any closer to a decision on prolonging the excise relief, the prime minister was coy.
"We'll be making a decision over the coming days about that and we'll announce it appropriately," he told reporters in Sydney on Saturday.
