Petrol Prices Australia

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Sydneysiders and Melburnians heading off on road trips this Queen's Birthday long weekend are urged to delay filling their car until later in the week or on the holiday weekend as petrol prices in both cities continue to fall.  

Analysis by comparison site comparethemarket.com.au shows petrol prices trending lower in both cities.

Petrol prices in Sydney and Melbourne are trending lower for the Queen's Birthday long weekend. Photo: Andrew Quilty

The website updates petrol prices three times daily across major Australian cities.

Abigail Koch, spokesperson for Comparethemarket, says petrol prices in capital cities run on a cycle of seven days to seven weeks, with prices in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide peaking at the top of the cycle last week.

"Price cycles are where prices usually fall slowly over a period of time before jumping up and then falling slowly again as the cycling behaviour continues," she says.

Unleaded petrol prices in the three months from March 4 to June 4, 2017, reached an average of 127.2 cents a litre, across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra.

Motorists across most of the country can expect prices to ease over the long weekend, Koch says.

The findings show Sydneysiders paid an average of 123.2 cents a litre over the past three months, the lowest for any capital city.

However, Sydney motorists should delay filling up until the weekend, and only fill up as much as they need over the weekend as prices are at the top of the cycle and should slowly drop over the weekend and coming weeks, Koch says.

"The Fairfield-Liverpool region of Sydney is seeing the best petrol prices, with an average price for the quarter of 121.6 cents per litre," she says.  

Early this week, prices were the lowest in Fairfield, at an average of 119.3 cents a litre.

They were highest in Kellyville, Heathcote, Berowra and Mosman at 141.9 cents a litre – the most expensive suburbs for petrol in any of the six cities.

Melbourne motorists are also urged to delay filling up until the weekend, as prices continue to ease.

Melbourne residents paid 128.4 cents a litre, on average, over the quarter.

The cheapest areas for petrol in Melbourne over the past three months were Frankston and Cranbourne at 126 cents a litre.

"Residents in McKinnon can be thankful that prices are as low as 126.9 cents per litre as of early this week," Koch says.

Residents in Hastings, Kew, Healesville and Narre Warren North paid the most to fill up the tank earlier this week at an average of 139.9 cents a litre, Koch says. 

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Fuel costs vary tremendously around here, just on the way to the hospital the other day the highest we saw was $1.39 and the lowest was $1.04

[Evandale]

We seem to be paying around $1.28 with a RACT/United card. It does of course vary from day to day!

[Guest The Pom Queen]

I remember in Melbourne it would change during the day, they would put it up in the morning, drop it at lunch and then put it back up at 4.30.

[Cerberus1]

Because of the large amount of driving I've been doing and the amount I've been spending on fuel, I've started driving with the fuel monitor constantly displaying in the car, It's definitely changed my driving style as I try to keep each journey average under 6 L / 100 km  Currently looking at 750km+ for this tank full (40L tank). (2.5L engine)

[Collie]

Wow, what car do you drive?  That is impressive.  Is that a lot of country driving.  I'm getting more in Perth than Sydney, less traffic and longer distances. 1.8l Octavia, think it's about a 55l tank and get about 600km out of 3/4 of a tank (I fill up on the 1/4).

I had a 2004 outback in Sydney 2.5l and got about 500km city driving, 600-650km on a trip to the snowys.

[Bobj]

Highest price I have seen was in Top Springs, Northern Territory, @ $2.22 and that was 4 years ago...

Cheers, Bobj.