3 days ago
Paying more at the bowser: discover where petrol prices have spiked the most
Australians are paying more for petrol and drivers in regional areas are often worse off - some forking out 14 cents a litre more in early 2025 than they were the year before.
In the first three months of 2025 the average price across 190 regional areas was 184.3 cents per litre, an increase of 4.8 cents on the previous quarter.
While prices also rose in the country's five largest capital cities, the mean pump price was lower at 182.2 cents, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) quarterly petrol report card found.
Canberra residents were the worst off among city-dwellers, paying an average 194.7 cents per litre at the bowser, almost 11 cents higher than at the end of 2024.
Prices were up in Hobart (7.6 cents) and Darwin (12.5 cents) as well.
The cheapest capital city to buy petrol was Adelaide at an average 175.5 cents a litre.
The value of the Australian dollar to the US dollar, which was at a 20-year low in the first three months of 2025, was largely to blame for the price pain, the ACCC said.
"The AUD-USD exchange rate ... can have a significant influence on Australia's retail petrol prices because international refined petrol is bought and sold in US dollars in global markets," it said in the report, released on June 3.
Petrol prices mostly rose in each of the 190 regional areas the ACCC monitors, but some were harder hit than others.
In NSW, drivers in Wagga in the Riverina were slugged 11.7 cents per litre more on average in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the final three months of the previous year.
In Bathurst and Coonabarabran the average price jumped 10 cents, while in Goulburn it rose 9.7 cents, and in Orange and Yass it went up 9.6 cents.
Price rises were more modest in Victoria where only Leongatha recorded a jump of more than 10 cents a litre.
But the biggest single increase in any location across Australia was at Sorell north-east of Hobart in Tasmania, where locals were charged 14.1 cents more a litre on average in March compared to December 2024.
Sorell also had the highest average price across the Apple Isle at 194.9 cents a litre.
"In some parts of Australia, retail petrol prices can be higher in regional locations than across the five largest cities," the ACCC said.
This can be down to a lack of local competition, the tyranny of distance, and lower volumes of fuel sold.
In Launceston petrol was also dearer in the three months to April (12.4 cents a litre), Ulverstone (12.1 cents), Queenstown (10.2 cents) and Devonport (9.9 cents).
Some Queensland towns suffered more than others, too, including Biloela (up 12.2 cents), Ingham and Warwick (11.9 cents), Moranbah (11.1 cents), Cairns (10 cents), and Mackay (9 cents).
In Western Australia, Bunbury, Waroona, Kalgoorlie and Boulder drivers all experienced average petrol price hikes of more than 9 cents a litre in the March quarter.
The cheapest petrol of the ACCC-monitored locations could be bought in Victor Harbor in South Australia, a coastal town on the Fleurieu Peninsula south-east of Adelaide.
Oberon west of the Blue Mountains had the best average petrol price in NSW (169.4 cents) in the first three months of 2025, while Moe recorded the cheapest in Victoria at 170.7 cents a litre.
In Tasmania, Queenstown had the lowest price at 181.1 cents a litre over the quarter and, in Western Australia, Busselton residents were filling up their tanks at 175.6 cents.
In NSW it was most expensive to fill up in Parkes in the Central West, where fuel cost 196.1 cents a litre on average.
Ararat and Mansfield tied as most expensive location in Victoria, where the price was 189.9 cents.
But Queensland was home to the dearest petrol in Australia at an average of 232.5 cents a litre in Weipa on the Cape York peninsula.
The latest ACCC Report on the Australian petroleum market found diesel prices also rose over the quarter, while sales of fully electric vehicles fell slightly as hybrid sales increased.
Australians are paying more for petrol and drivers in regional areas are often worse off - some forking out 14 cents a litre more in early 2025 than they were the year before.
In the first three months of 2025 the average price across 190 regional areas was 184.3 cents per litre, an increase of 4.8 cents on the previous quarter.
While prices also rose in the country's five largest capital cities, the mean pump price was lower at 182.2 cents, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) quarterly petrol report card found.
Canberra residents were the worst off among city-dwellers, paying an average 194.7 cents per litre at the bowser, almost 11 cents higher than at the end of 2024.
Prices were up in Hobart (7.6 cents) and Darwin (12.5 cents) as well.
The cheapest capital city to buy petrol was Adelaide at an average 175.5 cents a litre.
The value of the Australian dollar to the US dollar, which was at a 20-year low in the first three months of 2025, was largely to blame for the price pain, the ACCC said.
"The AUD-USD exchange rate ... can have a significant influence on Australia's retail petrol prices because international refined petrol is bought and sold in US dollars in global markets," it said in the report, released on June 3.
Petrol prices mostly rose in each of the 190 regional areas the ACCC monitors, but some were harder hit than others.
In NSW, drivers in Wagga in the Riverina were slugged 11.7 cents per litre more on average in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the final three months of the previous year.
In Bathurst and Coonabarabran the average price jumped 10 cents, while in Goulburn it rose 9.7 cents, and in Orange and Yass it went up 9.6 cents.
Price rises were more modest in Victoria where only Leongatha recorded a jump of more than 10 cents a litre.
But the biggest single increase in any location across Australia was at Sorell north-east of Hobart in Tasmania, where locals were charged 14.1 cents more a litre on average in March compared to December 2024.
Sorell also had the highest average price across the Apple Isle at 194.9 cents a litre.
"In some parts of Australia, retail petrol prices can be higher in regional locations than across the five largest cities," the ACCC said.
This can be down to a lack of local competition, the tyranny of distance, and lower volumes of fuel sold.
In Launceston petrol was also dearer in the three months to April (12.4 cents a litre), Ulverstone (12.1 cents), Queenstown (10.2 cents) and Devonport (9.9 cents).
Some Queensland towns suffered more than others, too, including Biloela (up 12.2 cents), Ingham and Warwick (11.9 cents), Moranbah (11.1 cents), Cairns (10 cents), and Mackay (9 cents).
In Western Australia, Bunbury, Waroona, Kalgoorlie and Boulder drivers all experienced average petrol price hikes of more than 9 cents a litre in the March quarter.
The cheapest petrol of the ACCC-monitored locations could be bought in Victor Harbor in South Australia, a coastal town on the Fleurieu Peninsula south-east of Adelaide.
Oberon west of the Blue Mountains had the best average petrol price in NSW (169.4 cents) in the first three months of 2025, while Moe recorded the cheapest in Victoria at 170.7 cents a litre.
In Tasmania, Queenstown had the lowest price at 181.1 cents a litre over the quarter and, in Western Australia, Busselton residents were filling up their tanks at 175.6 cents.
In NSW it was most expensive to fill up in Parkes in the Central West, where fuel cost 196.1 cents a litre on average.
Ararat and Mansfield tied as most expensive location in Victoria, where the price was 189.9 cents.
But Queensland was home to the dearest petrol in Australia at an average of 232.5 cents a litre in Weipa on the Cape York peninsula.
The latest ACCC Report on the Australian petroleum market found diesel prices also rose over the quarter, while sales of fully electric vehicles fell slightly as hybrid sales increased.
Australians are paying more for petrol and drivers in regional areas are often worse off - some forking out 14 cents a litre more in early 2025 than they were the year before.
In the first three months of 2025 the average price across 190 regional areas was 184.3 cents per litre, an increase of 4.8 cents on the previous quarter.
While prices also rose in the country's five largest capital cities, the mean pump price was lower at 182.2 cents, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) quarterly petrol report card found.
Canberra residents were the worst off among city-dwellers, paying an average 194.7 cents per litre at the bowser, almost 11 cents higher than at the end of 2024.
Prices were up in Hobart (7.6 cents) and Darwin (12.5 cents) as well.
The cheapest capital city to buy petrol was Adelaide at an average 175.5 cents a litre.
The value of the Australian dollar to the US dollar, which was at a 20-year low in the first three months of 2025, was largely to blame for the price pain, the ACCC said.
"The AUD-USD exchange rate ... can have a significant influence on Australia's retail petrol prices because international refined petrol is bought and sold in US dollars in global markets," it said in the report, released on June 3.
Petrol prices mostly rose in each of the 190 regional areas the ACCC monitors, but some were harder hit than others.
In NSW, drivers in Wagga in the Riverina were slugged 11.7 cents per litre more on average in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the final three months of the previous year.
In Bathurst and Coonabarabran the average price jumped 10 cents, while in Goulburn it rose 9.7 cents, and in Orange and Yass it went up 9.6 cents.
Price rises were more modest in Victoria where only Leongatha recorded a jump of more than 10 cents a litre.
But the biggest single increase in any location across Australia was at Sorell north-east of Hobart in Tasmania, where locals were charged 14.1 cents more a litre on average in March compared to December 2024.
Sorell also had the highest average price across the Apple Isle at 194.9 cents a litre.
"In some parts of Australia, retail petrol prices can be higher in regional locations than across the five largest cities," the ACCC said.
This can be down to a lack of local competition, the tyranny of distance, and lower volumes of fuel sold.
In Launceston petrol was also dearer in the three months to April (12.4 cents a litre), Ulverstone (12.1 cents), Queenstown (10.2 cents) and Devonport (9.9 cents).
Some Queensland towns suffered more than others, too, including Biloela (up 12.2 cents), Ingham and Warwick (11.9 cents), Moranbah (11.1 cents), Cairns (10 cents), and Mackay (9 cents).
In Western Australia, Bunbury, Waroona, Kalgoorlie and Boulder drivers all experienced average petrol price hikes of more than 9 cents a litre in the March quarter.
The cheapest petrol of the ACCC-monitored locations could be bought in Victor Harbor in South Australia, a coastal town on the Fleurieu Peninsula south-east of Adelaide.
Oberon west of the Blue Mountains had the best average petrol price in NSW (169.4 cents) in the first three months of 2025, while Moe recorded the cheapest in Victoria at 170.7 cents a litre.
In Tasmania, Queenstown had the lowest price at 181.1 cents a litre over the quarter and, in Western Australia, Busselton residents were filling up their tanks at 175.6 cents.
In NSW it was most expensive to fill up in Parkes in the Central West, where fuel cost 196.1 cents a litre on average.
Ararat and Mansfield tied as most expensive location in Victoria, where the price was 189.9 cents.
But Queensland was home to the dearest petrol in Australia at an average of 232.5 cents a litre in Weipa on the Cape York peninsula.
The latest ACCC Report on the Australian petroleum market found diesel prices also rose over the quarter, while sales of fully electric vehicles fell slightly as hybrid sales increased.
Australians are paying more for petrol and drivers in regional areas are often worse off - some forking out 14 cents a litre more in early 2025 than they were the year before.
In the first three months of 2025 the average price across 190 regional areas was 184.3 cents per litre, an increase of 4.8 cents on the previous quarter.
While prices also rose in the country's five largest capital cities, the mean pump price was lower at 182.2 cents, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) quarterly petrol report card found.
Canberra residents were the worst off among city-dwellers, paying an average 194.7 cents per litre at the bowser, almost 11 cents higher than at the end of 2024.
Prices were up in Hobart (7.6 cents) and Darwin (12.5 cents) as well.
The cheapest capital city to buy petrol was Adelaide at an average 175.5 cents a litre.
The value of the Australian dollar to the US dollar, which was at a 20-year low in the first three months of 2025, was largely to blame for the price pain, the ACCC said.
"The AUD-USD exchange rate ... can have a significant influence on Australia's retail petrol prices because international refined petrol is bought and sold in US dollars in global markets," it said in the report, released on June 3.
Petrol prices mostly rose in each of the 190 regional areas the ACCC monitors, but some were harder hit than others.
In NSW, drivers in Wagga in the Riverina were slugged 11.7 cents per litre more on average in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the final three months of the previous year.
In Bathurst and Coonabarabran the average price jumped 10 cents, while in Goulburn it rose 9.7 cents, and in Orange and Yass it went up 9.6 cents.
Price rises were more modest in Victoria where only Leongatha recorded a jump of more than 10 cents a litre.
But the biggest single increase in any location across Australia was at Sorell north-east of Hobart in Tasmania, where locals were charged 14.1 cents more a litre on average in March compared to December 2024.
Sorell also had the highest average price across the Apple Isle at 194.9 cents a litre.
"In some parts of Australia, retail petrol prices can be higher in regional locations than across the five largest cities," the ACCC said.
This can be down to a lack of local competition, the tyranny of distance, and lower volumes of fuel sold.
In Launceston petrol was also dearer in the three months to April (12.4 cents a litre), Ulverstone (12.1 cents), Queenstown (10.2 cents) and Devonport (9.9 cents).
Some Queensland towns suffered more than others, too, including Biloela (up 12.2 cents), Ingham and Warwick (11.9 cents), Moranbah (11.1 cents), Cairns (10 cents), and Mackay (9 cents).
In Western Australia, Bunbury, Waroona, Kalgoorlie and Boulder drivers all experienced average petrol price hikes of more than 9 cents a litre in the March quarter.
The cheapest petrol of the ACCC-monitored locations could be bought in Victor Harbor in South Australia, a coastal town on the Fleurieu Peninsula south-east of Adelaide.
Oberon west of the Blue Mountains had the best average petrol price in NSW (169.4 cents) in the first three months of 2025, while Moe recorded the cheapest in Victoria at 170.7 cents a litre.
In Tasmania, Queenstown had the lowest price at 181.1 cents a litre over the quarter and, in Western Australia, Busselton residents were filling up their tanks at 175.6 cents.
In NSW it was most expensive to fill up in Parkes in the Central West, where fuel cost 196.1 cents a litre on average.
Ararat and Mansfield tied as most expensive location in Victoria, where the price was 189.9 cents.
But Queensland was home to the dearest petrol in Australia at an average of 232.5 cents a litre in Weipa on the Cape York peninsula.
The latest ACCC Report on the Australian petroleum market found diesel prices also rose over the quarter, while sales of fully electric vehicles fell slightly as hybrid sales increased.
