We are monitoring retail fuel prices closely as international crude oil prices react to the conflict in the Middle East.
Retail fuel prices in Australia are largely determined by:
Local factors also affect retail prices.
We publish charts on the state of retail petrol price cycles in Australia's 5 largest cities. We also update consumer buying tips 3 times a week for these cities.
Consumers can also use fuel price apps and websites to compare and find lower priced fuel.
Our latest quarterly monitoring report, released on 19 March, reports on international influences on Australian fuel prices in 2023.
Petrol prices move up and down in regular patterns in Australia's largest capital cities. Petrol prices steadily decrease for a period followed by a sharper increase.
This pattern is also known as a petrol price cycle. It is a movement in the retail price from a low point (or trough) to a high point (or peak) to the following low point. Petrol price cycles do not occur in Canberra, Hobart and Darwin.
Petrol price cycles are the result of pricing policies of petrol retailers and not from changes in the wholesale cost of fuel.
The buying tips below are for regular unleaded petrol prices in Australia's 5 largest cities that have petrol price cycles. The buying tips are also applicable to premium unleaded 95, premium unleaded 98 and E10, as prices of all grades of petrol tend to move in a similar way.
Retail diesel prices do not move in cycles.
The duration of each petrol price cycle varies from cycle to cycle and by location.
The length of price cycles in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth has varied between city and over time.
In 2022 the average duration of price cycles in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane was around 5 weeks, and in Adelaide it was just over 2 weeks. Perth currently has regular weekly price cycles.
You can use petrol price cycles to help you decide when to buy petrol in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. We provide buying tips for each major city.
We update:
You should use this information as a guide only. The duration of each petrol price cycle varies from cycle to cycle and by location. Historical data can only indicate or suggest the cheapest and most expensive days to buy petrol in the future.
Buying tip (updated on Friday):
This chart shows daily average regular unleaded petrol prices in Sydney over the past 45 days.
Source: Informed Sources.
Information on the past 5 price cycles in Sydney is shown in this table:
| First day of cycle (low price) | No. of days to highest price in the cycle | Date of highest price in the cycle | Days to next cycle (next low price) | Total days in cycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 01 Aug 23 | 10 | Fri 11 Aug 23 | 25 | 35 |
| Tue 05 Sep 23 | 10 | Fri 15 Sep 23 | 39 | 49 |
| Tue 24 Oct 23 | 11 | Sat 04 Nov 23 | 29 | 40 |
| Sun 03 Dec 23 | 17 | Wed 20 Dec 23 | 31 | 48 |
| Sat 20 Jan 24 | 14 | Sat 03 Feb 24 | 17 | 31 |
Source: ACCC calculations based on data from Informed Sources.
Buying tip (updated on Friday):
prices are increasing
This chart shows daily average regular unleaded petrol prices in Melbourne over the past 45 days.
Source: Informed Sources.
Information on the past 5 price cycles in Melbourne is shown in this table:
| First day of cycle (low price) | No. of days to highest price in the cycle | Date of highest price in the cycle | Days to next cycle (next low price) | Total days in cycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 07 Aug 23 | 9 | Wed 16 Aug 23 | 26 | 35 |
| Mon 11 Sep 23 | 11 | Fri 22 Sep 23 | 40 | 51 |
| Wed 01 Nov 23 | 12 | Mon 13 Nov 23 | 29 | 41 |
| Tue 12 Dec 23 | 13 | Mon 25 Dec 23 | 28 | 41 |
| Mon 22 Jan 24 | 14 | Mon 05 Feb 24 | 28 | 42 |
Source: ACCC calculations based on data from Informed Sources.
Buying tip (updated on Friday):
This chart shows daily average regular unleaded petrol prices in Brisbane over the past 45 days.
Source: Informed Sources.
Information on the past 5 price cycles in Brisbane is shown in this table:
| First day of cycle (low price) | No. of days to highest price in the cycle | Date of highest price in the cycle | Days to next cycle (next low price) | Total days in cycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 10 Jul 23 | 8 | Tue 18 Jul 23 | 25 | 33 |
| Sat 12 Aug 23 | 11 | Wed 23 Aug 23 | 32 | 43 |
| Sun 24 Sep 23 | 10 | Wed 04 Oct 23 | 36 | 46 |
| Thu 09 Nov 23 | 15 | Fri 24 Nov 23 | 39 | 54 |
| Tue 02 Jan 24 | 20 | Mon 22 Jan 24 | 34 | 54 |
Source: ACCC calculations based on data from Informed Sources.
Buying tip (updated on Friday):
This chart shows daily average regular unleaded petrol prices in Adelaide over the past 45 days.
Source: Informed Sources.
Information on the past 5 price cycles in Adelaide is shown in this table:
| First day of the cycle (low price) | No. of days to highest price in the cycle | Date of highest price in the cycle | Days to next cycle (next low price) | Total days in cycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 12 Dec 23 | 5 | Sun 17 Dec 23 | 18 | 23 |
| Thu 04 Jan 24 | 5 | Tue 09 Jan 24 | 9 | 14 |
| Thu 18 Jan 24 | 5 | Tue 23 Jan 24 | 15 | 20 |
| Wed 07 Feb 24 | 6 | Tue 13 Feb 24 | 11 | 17 |
| Sat 24 Feb 24 | 6 | Fri 01 Mar 24 | 12 | 18 |
Source: ACCC calculations based on data from Informed Sources.
Buying tip (updated on Friday):
prices are decreasing and may decrease further
motorists looking to buy petrol can shop around for the lowest prices.
This chart shows daily average regular unleaded petrol prices in Perth over the past 45 days.
Source: Informed Sources.
Information on the past 5 price cycles in Perth is shown in this table:
|
First day of cycle (low price) |
No. of days to highest price in the cycle |
Date of highest price in the cycle |
Days to next cycle (next low price) |
Total days in cycle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 06 Feb 24 | 1 | Wed 07 Feb 24 | 6 | 7 |
| Tue 13 Feb 24 | 1 | Wed 14 Feb 24 | 6 | 7 |
| Tue 20 Feb 24 | 1 | Wed 21 Feb 24 | 6 | 7 |
| Tue 27 Feb 24 | 1 | Wed 28 Feb 24 | 6 | 7 |
| Tue 05 Mar 24 | 1 | Wed 06 Mar 24 | 6 | 7 |
Source: ACCC calculations based on data from Informed Sources.
The ACCC closely monitored fuel prices following the Federal Budget reduction in fuel excise from 30 March to 28 September 2022. Results of our monitoring were described in the March 2022, June 2022 and September 2022 quarterly petrol reports.