Sydney hit with record fuel prices this year, cycles longer than ever before

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Sydney fuel stations have charged record prices in 2024, with research undertaken by the NRMA revealing that Australians are paying too much at the bowser.

An analysis carried out by the NRMA (National Roads and Motorists Association) has found that Sydney had a highest average price of 222.9 cents per litre in April this year, and a record top price of 237.9 cents.

In contrast, the lowest average price was 182.3 cents per litre. 

With a difference of 30 cents per litre between the top and bottom of fuel price cycles, the NRMA calculates this would cost Sydney motorists up to $780 more over a year.

The NRMA research also found that the length of a price cycle in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne during 2024 hit a high of seven weeks – another record – compared to between seven and 17 days in Adelaide and Perth.

The average price for Regular Unleaded petrol at the peak of these cycles was 212.2 cents per litre in Sydney, with almost half (45 per cent) of the city's servos charging the maximum rate.

"Price cycles are unique to Australia and while we have seen them across our largest cities for almost two decades we are now seeing similar trends in larger regional towns located near the capitals," said NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury.

"NRMA research exposed the reality of these cycles: they are lasting longer, prices rise up-to three times faster than they fall – and with this latest research we know that the majority of service stations in Sydney are charging the maximum price longer at the top of the cycle – there are no more outliers."

While 2024 set many records, the NRMA says none of that is good news for consumers, and as has today launched a new rewards app to offer motorists both savings and real-time updates about what fuel prices are doing.

The app will offer 13 cents off per litre at selected Ampol Foodary servos, helping drivers to save an estimated $370 a year, while real-time notifications of when price cycles hit the bottom so you can fill up for less could mean savings of around $800 annually.

The NRMA's Nationwide Fuel Finder, which offers real-time data of every service station – with a variant offered in Victoria – with the potential to deliver a maximum annual saving of $1540.

The largest gap between the cheapest and the most expensive stations in Sydney hit a top of 59.2 cents per litre on 31 August.

By shopping around or having real-time data on prices, the NRMA says on that day motorists could have made a maximum saving of $29.60.

The NRMA is expected to follow with reports relating to Melbourne and Brisbane next week.

Petrol prices move up and down in regular patterns in Australia’s largest capital cities – though not in Canberra, Hobart or Darwin – but these cycles don't tend to apply to diesel.

MORE: Queensland premier to cap daily fuel price increases if re-elected

“What happens is that the service stations will cut their prices to encourage people to come through the door and then they’ll put their prices up and when they go up, that’s when they make their profit," Mr Khoury previously told SBS News.

Fuel prices in Australia aren’t regulated, which means that the Federal Government doesn’t set the amount and has no influence on what it will be, and each servo can set its own price.

Australia's prices are benchmarked by Singapore's price index rather than the global Brent crude oil price as it's our regional refining and distribution centre, with changes felt locally around two weeks after.

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