The Fuel Price Cycle Explained

Petrol prices in Australia's largest cities tend to move in cycles. Currently, there are weekly price cycles in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. Price cycles are characterised by a rapid increase in prices to a peak (referred to as a "hike") and then a slower decrease of prices. Price cycles are a marketing strategy developed by petrol companies and do not reflect movements in the cost of the product.  Price cycles do not occur in regional areas.

Use the Price Cycle to Save Money

Fuel retailers have to notify FuelWatch of their prices for tomorrow by 2.00pm each day. If the notified prices indicate a price cycle will be commencing on the following day, FuelWatch alerts email subscribers, issues media releases and publishes a news story on the website from 2.30pm. This gives Perth motorists a warning that prices will be increasing. Subscribe to be a day ahead of any price hikes and save up to 20 cents per litre. More tips to save money can be found below.

Petrol Price Cycle

Currently Perth has a weekly petrol price cycle. Generaly, all the petrol related products move together, so if you buy PULP or 98RON, you should also monitor what is happening with petrol prices. FuelWatch publishes a graph showing the price trend over the last month for all fuel products.

In a typical petrol price cycle, a number of sites (the price-leaders) "hike" their prices on Wednesday, commencing a new price cycle. The price leader/s will usually increase their prices by between 8 and 14 cpl, however increases of 18 cpl have occurred in the past.  On the first couple of days of a new price cycle many retailers may keep their prices low, or even continue to decrease them.  

Other retailers will usually follow the "hiked" prices on Thursday and Friday.  By Saturday, prices are usually decreasing once more. FuelWatch encourages motorists, as far as possible, to avoid the peak of the cycle, when cheaper prices are harder to find. 

Currently, the lowest average price during a Perth price cycle is on Tuesday, and the highest average price is on Friday.

Diesel

Diesel is a less volatile product. Generally, diesel price changes usually only reflect movements in international prices.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas

There is no clear cut price cycle for LPG in Perth. A number of LPG retailers only change their prices in response to a change in the international benchmark price for LPG, which changes once per month. This type of change in retail price is usually seen in the market in the first week of the month. We encourage LPG motorists to check the international benchmark price for LPG during the first few days of the month, so they are aware what the pricing trend may be for that month.

Some LPG retailers however, do attempt to introduce regular price cycles as part of their marketing strategy, and these are unrelated to changes in the international price. These may occur on a weekly or fortnightly basis.

Knowing where in the price cycle fuel prices are can help you save hundreds of dollars a year. Understanding the price cycle will assist you to time your purchases and benefit from the cheapest buys.

FuelWatch tips to beat the ULP Price Cycle:

• Subscribe to the free personalised email service which include Price Hike Alerts.
• Use FuelWatch - via the website or call 1300 55 08 08 to find the cheapest retailers.
• Buy when petrol is cheap - not when your tank is empty.
• Best buys follow the price hike - The first day of a new price cycle some retailers may have hiked their prices, but many retailers will usually still be pushing their prices down.  
• Look Out for Small Price Reductions - After a new price cycle has started, fuel prices can decrease overnight by one cent or more. Toward the bottom of the price cycle these decreases can be as small as 0.1 cents per litre.  When price decreases get this small, it usually means a price hike is imminent. 
• Independent fuel outlets are often cheapest immediately after a price hike - Independents usually take two to three days to increase their prices after a price hike.
• Check FuelWatch today for tomorrow's prices - Retailers must notify FuelWatch of their next day's retail price by 2pm. These prices are available after 2:30pm on the FuelWatch services, including this website. Retailers must then change their prices from 6am and the prices must remain unchanged for 24-hours.  The advance notice of fuel prices gives FuelWatch ample opportunity to inform motorists of the best fuel buys and signal a price hike alert.