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 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.
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 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.
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 buying tips for each major city.
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 Monday):
- 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 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 |
---|
Sat 20 May 23 |
14 |
Sat 03 Jun 23 |
31 |
45 |
Tue 04 Jul 23 |
8 |
Wed 12 Jul 23 |
20 |
28 |
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 |
Source: ACCC calculations based on data from Fueltrac and Informed Sources.
Buying tip (updated on Monday):
- prices are increasing
- if motorists shop around, they may find some retailers that have not yet increased 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 |
---|
Sun 21 May 23 |
14 |
Sun 04 Jun 23 |
35 |
49 |
Sun 09 Jul 23 |
8 |
Mon 17 Jul 23 |
21 |
29 |
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 |
Source: ACCC calculations based on data from Fueltrac and Informed Sources.
Buying tip (updated on Monday):
- 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 |
---|
Thu 30 Mar 23 |
17 |
Sun 16 Apr 23 |
39 |
56 |
Thu 25 May 23 |
12 |
Tue 06 Jun 23 |
34 |
46 |
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 |
Source: ACCC calculations based on data from Fueltrac and Informed Sources.
Buying tip (updated on Monday):
- prices are increasing
- if motorists shop around, they may find some retailers that have not yet increased prices.
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 |
---|
Thu 14 Sep 23 |
7 |
Thu 21 Sep 23 |
17 |
24 |
Sun 08 Oct 23 |
5 |
Fri 13 Oct 23 |
14 |
19 |
Fri 27 Oct 23 |
5 |
Wed 01 Nov 23 |
11 |
16 |
Sun 12 Nov 23 |
3 |
Wed 15 Nov 23 |
10 |
13 |
Sat 25 Nov 23 |
5 |
Thu 30 Nov 23 |
12 |
17 |
Source: ACCC calculations based on data from Informed Sources.
Buying tip (updated on Monday):
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 21 Nov 23 |
1 |
Wed 22 Nov 23 |
6 |
7 |
Tue 28 Nov 23 |
1 |
Wed 29 Nov 23 |
6 |
7 |
Tue 05 Dec 23 |
1 |
Wed 06 Dec 23 |
6 |
7 |
Tue 12 Dec 23 |
1 |
Wed 13 Dec 23 |
6 |
7 |
Tue 19 Dec 23 |
1 |
Wed 20 Dec 23 |
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.