What affects fuel prices
Retail fuel prices in Australia are largely determined by:
- global factors influencing international crude oil and refined fuel prices
- the value of the Australian-US dollar exchange rate.
Local factors, such as the level of competition can also affect retail prices.
Learn more about what affects fuel prices.
Petrol price cycles
Petrol prices move up and down in regular patterns in Australia's 5 largest cities. Prices can increase sharply over a short period, then decrease gradually over a longer period before the process repeats.
This pattern is also known as a petrol price cycle.
Petrol price cycles are the result of pricing decisions made by various petrol retailers. They are not driven by movements in wholesale prices or underlying costs. Not all retailers participate in price cycles.
How long petrol price cycles last in each city
The duration of petrol price cycles in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth varies between city and over time.
In 2024, the average duration of petrol price cycles was around:
- 5 and a half weeks in Sydney
- 6 and a half weeks in Melbourne
- 6 weeks in Brisbane
- 2 and a half weeks in Adelaide
- 1 week in Perth.
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. For these cities, we update:
- buying tips on weekdays (at least Monday, Wednesday and Friday) around midday
- historical data on price cycles as necessary.
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 Wednesday):
- while the price cycle is around a high point, we encourage motorists to use fuel price apps and websites to find lower priced retailers.
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 |
| Sun 20 Oct 24 |
14 |
Sun 03 Nov 24 |
17 |
31 |
| Wed 20 Nov 24 |
12 |
Mon 02 Dec 24 |
43 |
55 |
| Tue 14 Jan 25 |
20 |
Mon 03 Feb 25 |
19 |
39 |
| Sat 22 Feb 25 |
19 |
Thu 13 Mar 25 |
33 |
52 |
| Tue 15 Apr 25 |
15 |
Wed 30 Apr 25 |
22 |
37 |
Source: ACCC calculations based on data from Informed Sources.
Buying tip (updated on Wednesday):
- 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 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 26 Aug 24 |
22 |
Tue 17 Sep 24 |
23 |
45 |
| Thu 10 Oct 24 |
19 |
Tue 29 Oct 24 |
33 |
52 |
| Sun 01 Dec 24 |
22 |
Mon 23 Dec 24 |
42 |
64 |
| Mon 03 Feb 25 |
15 |
Tue 18 Feb 25 |
35 |
50 |
| Tue 25 Mar 25 |
21 |
Tue 15 Apr 25 |
35 |
56 |
Source: ACCC calculations based on data from Informed Sources.
Buying tip (updated on Wednesday):
- 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 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 |
| Sun 18 Aug 24 |
13 |
Sat 31 Aug 24 |
22 |
35 |
| Sun 22 Sep 24 |
11 |
Thu 03 Oct 24 |
19 |
30 |
| Tue 22 Oct 24 |
10 |
Fri 01 Nov 24 |
25 |
35 |
| Tue 26 Nov 24 |
22 |
Wed 18 Dec 24 |
41 |
63 |
| Tue 28 Jan 25 |
22 |
Wed 19 Feb 25 |
74 |
96 |
Source: ACCC calculations based on data from Informed Sources.
Buying tip (updated on Wednesday):
- prices appear to be around the lowest point of the cycle
- now is a good time for motorists to buy petrol.
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 |
| Wed 05 Feb 25 |
5 |
Mon 10 Feb 25 |
11 |
16 |
| Fri 21 Feb 25 |
3 |
Mon 24 Feb 25 |
16 |
19 |
| Wed 12 Mar 25 |
5 |
Mon 17 Mar 25 |
10 |
15 |
| Thu 27 Mar 25 |
7 |
Thu 03 Apr 25 |
20 |
27 |
| Wed 23 Apr 25 |
9 |
Fri 02 May 25 |
18 |
27 |
Source: ACCC calculations based on data from Informed Sources.
Buying tip (updated on Wednesday):
- while the price cycle is around a high point, we encourage motorists to use fuel price apps and websites to find lower priced retailers.
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 22 Apr 25 |
1 |
Wed 23 Apr 25 |
6 |
7 |
| Tue 29 Apr 25 |
1 |
Wed 30 Apr 25 |
6 |
7 |
| Tue 06 May 25 |
1 |
Wed 07 May 25 |
6 |
7 |
| Tue 13 May 25 |
1 |
Wed 14 May 25 |
6 |
7 |
| Tue 20 May 25 |
1 |
Wed 21 May 25 |
6 |
7 |
Source: ACCC calculations based on data from Informed Sources.
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.
