Petrol prices are expected to fall over the Christmas and New Year period to 14-month lows as falling world oil prices and a stable Australian Dollar finally deliver relief to motorists.
The Sydney petrol price cycle is working in favour of motorists leading into Christmas with prices now falling around one-cent-per day over the last week. Those falls are expected to continue in to Christmas and early 2019 to a bottom of 116 cents per litre (CPL) for regular unleaded – the lowest in 15 months.
Diesel prices have also fallen an additional three cents per litre over the last week to 144 CPL. Diesel prices spiked two months ago to a high point of 163.7 CPL.
Sydney average prices for regular unleaded currently sit at 128.2 CPL. Stunningly, the 52.2 CPL gap between the cheapest service station in Sydney (111.7 CPL) and most expensive (163.9 CPL) is the largest on record.
Analysis conducted through the My NRMA app shows a motorist who fills up at Sydney’s cheapest service station, driving a typical family sedan, will save $32 on a tank of petrol compared to a motorist filling up at the most expensive service station in a similar vehicle.
NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury said there were real bargains to be found leading up to Christmas, however families who guessed where to fill up without doing fuel price research could get unnecessarily stung.
“That one driver could pay $32 more to fill up than another driver in the same car, in the same city, on the same day, should be all the motivation families need this Christmas to do their research before they fill up,” Mr Khoury said.
“There are real bargains to be found across the city and these prices will only get better if oil companies stick to the price cycle, but the obvious flip side is that there are plenty of service stations currently over-charging.
“Don’t guess where to fill up. Get on the My NRMA app and find the cheapest service station in your area before you fill up. The prices are located on the app in real-time by law so service stations trying to over-charge this Christmas cannot hide.”
After a difficult year at the bowser petrol prices have finally turned in the favour of Australian families. Australia’s international benchmark price, Singapore Mogas, has fallen to $US 61.65 a barrel – more than $US32 a barrel from its 2018 high of $US94 a barrel in October this year.
“We know that the bottom of this cycle should hit at around 116 CPL and the NRMA will be monitoring prices over the Christmas holiday period closely to make sure our members don’t get short-changed,” Mr Khoury said.
“They’ve waited all year for some petrol price relief and we want our members spending their spare cash on their families these holidays and not at the bowser.”
NRMA members also receive up to five cents per litre discount when they fill up at Ampol, through My NRMA.
