- Petrol prices move up and down in regular patterns in Australia’s major cities.
- Petrol price cycles are the result of deliberate pricing policies of petrol retailers.
What the ACCC does
- We monitor petrol price cycles in Australia’s major cities.
- We provide buying tips for consumers as a guide.
- We take reports of anti-competitive behaviour in the fuel industry.
What the ACCC can't do
- We don’t set or control Australian fuel prices or price cycles.
- We don’t resolve individual complaints.
Petrol price cycles affect the price of petrol
How petrol price cycles work
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 are the result of pricing policies of petrol retailers and not from changes in the wholesale cost of fuel.
Petrol buying tips and charts
You can use petrol price cycles to help you decide when to buy petrol in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. We provide charts and buying tips for each major city.
We update:
- charts daily from Monday to Friday around midday and show average daily prices for the last 45 days. Updates on Mondays include prices for the Friday, Saturday and Sunday before.
- buying tips on weekdays (at least Monday, Wednesday and Friday) around midday. The buying tips may not always be obvious from the charts. This is because the charts show historical prices.
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.
How long price cycles last
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 2021–22, the average duration of price cycles in Sydney was around 6 weeks, in Melbourne and Brisbane it was around 5 weeks and in Adelaide it was just over 2 weeks. Perth currently has regular weekly price cycles.
Petrol prices in Sydney
Buying tip (updated on Monday):
- prices are increasing
- if motorists shop around, they may find some retailers that have not yet increased prices.
The chart below shows daily average regular unleaded petrol prices in Sydney over the past 45 days.
Source: FUELtrac
Information on the past 5 price cycles in Sydney is shown below:
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 11 May 22 | 11 | Sun 22 May 22 | 18 | 29 |
| Thu 09 Jun 22 | 11 | Mon 20 Jun 22 | 51 | 62 |
| Wed 10 Aug 22 | 14 | Wed 24 Aug 22 | 19 | 33 |
| Mon 12 Sep 22 | 15 | Tue 27 Sep 22 | 23 | 38 |
| Thu 20 Oct 22 | 17 | Sun 06 Nov 22 | 35 | 52 |
Petrol prices in Melbourne
Buying tip (updated on Monday):
- prices appear to be around the lowest point of the cycle
- now is a good time for motorists to buy petrol.
The chart below shows daily average regular unleaded petrol prices in Melbourne over the past 45 days.
Source: FUELtrac
Information on the past five price cycles in Melbourne is shown below:
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 02 Jun 22 | 11 | Mon 13 Jun 22 | 15 | 26 |
| Tue 28 Jun 22 | 9 | Thu 07 Jul 22 | 36 | 45 |
| Fri 12 Aug 22 | 11 | Tue 23 Aug 22 | 20 | 31 |
| Mon 12 Sep 22 | 13 | Sun 25 Sep 22 | 23 | 36 |
| Tue 18 Oct 22 | 17 | Fri 04 Nov 22 | 39 | 56 |
Petrol prices in Brisbane
Buying tip (updated on Monday):
- prices are increasing
- if motorists shop around, they may find some retailers that have not yet increased prices.
The chart below shows daily average regular unleaded petrol prices in Brisbane over the past 45 days.
Source: FUELtrac
Information on the past five price cycles in Brisbane is shown below:
| 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 10 May 22 | 10 | Fri 20 May 22 | 20 | 30 |
| Thu 09 Jun 22 | 11 | Mon 20 Jun 22 | 49 | 60 |
| Mon 08 Aug 22 | 13 | Sun 21 Aug 22 | 22 | 35 |
| Mon 12 Sept 22 | 14 | Mon 26 Sep 22 | 23 | 37 |
| Wed 19 Oct 22 | 19 | Mon 07 Nov 22 | 35 | 54 |
Petrol prices in Adelaide
Buying tip (updated on Monday):
- prices are decreasing but they are likely to decrease further
- motorists looking to buy petrol can shop around for the lowest prices.
The chart below shows daily average regular unleaded petrol prices in Adelaide over the past 45 days.
Source: FUELtrac
Information on the past five price cycles in Adelaide is shown below:
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 21 Sep 22 | 8 | Thu 29 Sep 22 | 14 | 22 |
| Thu 13 Oct 22 | 4 | Mon 17 Oct 22 | 6 | 10 |
| Sun 23 Oct 22 | 3 | Wed 26 Oct 22 | 8 | 11 |
| Thu 03 Nov 22 | 7 | Thu 10 Nov 22 | 11 | 18 |
| Mon 21 Nov 22 | 6 | Sun 27 Nov 22 | 11 | 17 |
Petrol prices in Perth
Buying tip (updated on Monday):
- prices appear to be around the lowest point of the cycle
- now is a good time for motorists to buy petrol.
The chart below shows average daily regular unleaded petrol prices in Perth over the past 45 days.
Source: FUELtrac
Information on the past five price cycles in Perth is shown below:
|
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 08 Nov 22 | 1 | Wed 09 Nov 22 | 6 | 7 |
| Tue 15 Nov 22 | 1 | Wed 16 Nov 22 | 6 | 7 |
| Tue 22 Nov 22 | 1 | Wed 23 Nov 22 | 6 | 7 |
| Tue 29 Nov 22 | 1 | Wed 30 Nov 22 | 6 | 7 |
| Tue 06 Dec 22 | 1 | Wed 07 Dec 22 | 6 | 7 |
See also
Monitoring fuel prices following the excise cut and restoration
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.