Research reveals Brisbane motorists exposed to higher fuel price cycle for up to seven weeks
New research has revealed why Brisbane is the second most expensive city in Australia for fuel. FIND OUT HOW TO SAVE
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New research has revealed why Brisbane is the second most expensive city in Australia for fuel, with a new initiative launched to help Queenslanders save at the bowser.
Research released by NRMA Insurance has revealed the River City is the most expensive for fuel outside of Canberra, meaning it is the most expensive of the larger capital cities around the country.
NRMA’s analysis of the six price cycles so far in Brisbane this year has found that the average price for regular unleaded at the top of these cycles was 218.1 cents per litre.
By contrast, at the bottom of the six cycles the lowest price on average was 182.7 cents per litre.
The gap between the top and the bottom of Brisbane’s price cycles was 35.4 cents per litre – an annual saving of $920 for a standard 50 litre tank.
Analysis of the six price cycles so far in Victoria this year has found that the average price for regular unleaded at the top of these cycles was 214.9 cents per litre, while analysis of the six price cycles so far in Sydney this year has found that the average price for regular unleaded at the top of these cycles was 212.2 cents per litre.
NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said longer price cycles were exposing Brisbane residents to higher fuel prices for up to seven weeks at a time.
“The reason Brisbane is the second most expensive city is largely because of the price cycle, and that’s what the research has shown,” Mr Khoury said.
“Historically, what were once seven day cycles are now going for as much as seven weeks, and we know that prices in Brisbane go up two and a half, three times faster than they fall, and because of that, it means that motorists in Brisbane are exposed to prices longer.
“Australia is the only country on Earth that has these price cycles, and they are pretty much in five of the largest capital cities - so nowhere else on the planet do you get these volatile price cycles.”
By contrast, Australia’s two cheapest cities Perth and Adelaide have price cycles of seven days and seventeen days respectively.
Mr Khoury said the difference between the average high point and low point of the cycle is well over 30 cents per litre.
“If you’re filling up at the top of the cycle consistently instead of the bottom, you’ve spent about $900 a year more on fuel than you need,” he said.
“If you do your research before you fill up, you’ll save a lot more than that.”
To combat the lengthy price cycles, NRMA has launched its ‘Under the Pump,’ campaign that includes a new app feature that alerts members when fuel prices are at their lowest.
“If you’re a member of NRMA, we will tell you when the bottom we can now tell you when the bottom of the cycle is through our app, so you basically will get a notification to say we’re at the bottom of the cycle,” he said.
“We obviously don’t want people paying $2.20 or $2.30 when they can be paying $1.70 or $1.80, so having real time data is what we now have on our app.”
Mr Khoury said the initiative is about controlling what you can amid a tough global economic climate.
“There are global factors we have absolutely no control over like every time something happens in the Middle East,” he said.
“We know that the Middle East again is in flames and every time that happens we see the market react.
“You always get the market reacting with an initial jolt before prices stabilise.
“We’ve stopped banking on worst case scenarios, because no one would have predicted Covid-19, no one thought Russia was going to invade Ukraine, so we’ve made an effort to stop guessing what the worst case scenario might be and give some control back to consumers.”
The nationwide fuel finder is available to all NRMA members through the My NRMA rewards app.
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Originally published as Research reveals Brisbane motorists exposed to higher fuel price cycle for up to seven weeks
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