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1 November, 2021
Perth’s petrol price cycle has just undergone some major changes, which means motorists will now have to re-evaluate where and when they buy petrol.
Instead of the one-week cycle - where prices fall to their lowest on Tuesday, rise sharply on Wednesday before tapering down until the following Tuesday - the rise and gradual fall will now occur across a fortnightly cycle.
If you’re using premium petrol in your car even though it’s not recommended for it (e.g., 98RON into a 91RON car), you’re burning extra money that you could spend elsewhere. Read more myths and facts about fuel and fuel pricing before you fill up next.
As RAC Vehicles and Fuels manager, Alex Forrest explains, this will make it much “trickier” for motorists to get cheap fuel every time they fill up.
“This now makes it more difficult for motorists to align their fuel purchasing with the cheapest days in the cycle, because after filling up on the cheapest day, there’s a good chance many will need to buy fuel again before pricing reaches the lowest point in the cycle.
“Motorists are already grappling with record high petrol prices, and the changed fuel cycle will only make it more difficult to fill-up on the cheapest day.”
The price cycle, which applies only to petrol and primarily in the Perth metropolitan area, has been operating in the Perth market for more than 10 years in various forms.
Other major Australian cities also have petrol price cycles, however those cycles are typically much longer - up to 50 days or more.
In WA, fuel retailers must lock in their prices by 2:00pm each day for the following day and notify the State Government of what those prices will be.
Petrol prices for all fuel retailers in WA are then listed on the State Government’s FuelWatch website.
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Until now, Perth motorists who have used FuelWatch to find the cheapest petrol have been able to save as much as $350 over the course of a year, however the new fortnightly cycle will significantly reduce the amount that can be saved.
“Fuel is a constant expense for WA households, and recent increases in international benchmark fuel prices in addition to these local changes to Perth's petrol cycle has just made it even more expensive to move around our state,” says Forrest.
“The major fuel retailers, which lead Perth’s fuel cycle, must come out and explain to motorists why they are doing this.”
Forrest says RAC will continue to monitor price fluctuations over the weeks ahead.
“While we’ll need to see how prices change over time, it would seem at this point that fuel retailers are looking for a new way of boosting their bottom lines at a time when household budgets are under increasing pressure.
“Our advice to motorists is to subscribe to FuelWatch alerts to ensure you’re filling up at the cheapest station near you.
“There are other simple things you can do to save money on fuel in the long-run, including avoiding unnecessarily hard acceleration and heavy braking, planning your trips well and ensuring your tyres are at the correct pressures.
“Removing any unnecessary weight from your vehicle and servicing your car regularly can also reduce fuel consumption.”
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