Sydney petrol prices falling slower than a wet week

Sydney’s Christmas and New Year period has been characterised by wet weather and a snail’s pace fall in petrol prices with analysis conducted by the NRMA showing prices falling only one cent a day – one third the rate that prices have increased.

The average price of regular unleaded has fallen 22 cents per litre over the last 22 days. Prior to reaching the high-point of the last cycle prices increased at almost three cents per litre a day. Across 2020 prices in Sydney rose twice-as-fast as they fell.

According to the mynrma app the average price in Sydney is currently 116.8 cents per litre for regular unleaded and is expected to fall at least another six cents per litre. The average wholesale price in Sydney is currently 109.1 cents per litre.

The NRMA analysis also found:

•  Across the last 10 price cycles in 2020/21 prices never fell below the wholesale price once
• Across the 13 price cycles in 2019 prices fell below the whole sale price 41 times times
• Across 2020/21 the daily gap between the wholesale and retail price closed below five cents per litre on 47 occasions 
• Across 2019 the daily gap between the wholesale and retail price closed below five cents per litre on 133 occasions.

The NRMA is today calling on oil companies to put an end to the behaviour of stalling price falls once-and-for-all.

The NRMA has long known that Sydney’s bizarre price cycles exposed motorists to higher prices for longer – especially in 2020 - but for prices to fall three times slower than they rise is patently wrong and unacceptable,” NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury said.

“The gap between the wholesale and retail prices is one of the key indicators of profit margins at the bowser and the fact that this gap closed to five cents or less on 133 days in 2019, yet only 47 days last year, further highlights that Sydney drivers aren’t getting a fair deal.

“If ever the public was in need of a fair deal it was in 2020. This year, the oil companies need to drop their prices faster and further to better reflect a fair and reasonable price. Fuel is an essential commodity in Australia and it’s high time prices reflected that reality.”