Filling up a tank of fuel on Tuesdays instead of Wednesday could save you nearly $1000 over the course of the year.
Fuel companies switched from a weekly fuel cycle to fortnightly in 2021, but now all major retailers are back to the weekly cycle.
FuelWatch Manager Ben Derecki said while major retailers – including 7-Eleven, Ampol, Caltex/Puma, Coles Express, EG Ampol, BP, United and Vibe – set their prices in line with Perth’s weekly cycle, some retail outlets did not run on the cycle.
“There are some retailers with a smaller number of outlets (Atlas, Costco, Liberty and Petro Fuels) as well as single retail outlets which generally don’t follow the price cycle,” he said.
Mr Derecki said while those retailers may offer some convenience but it did not mean they were the cheaper option.
“There are retailers that don’t follow the price cycle that are consistently higher-priced and also those that are consistently lower-priced,” he said.
“The most reliable way to save money buying fuel is to time purchases around the price cycle. To fill up on Mondays or Tuesdays when prices are often lower than the wholesale price of fuel.”
Fuel prices then spike on Wednesdays.
Mr Derecki said based on the average metro ULP price increase between Tuesdays and Wednesdays in 2023, motorists could have saved up to $450so far this year by purchasing on Tuesdays instead of Wednesdays.
If trends continue, savings over the year could add up to over $800.
This week The Sunday Times found the cheapest fuel in Perth on Tuesday (excluding from Costco which is membership based) was 160.5 cents per litre at Vibe Kwinana and the most expensive was 181.9 cents per litre at United Swanbourne.
The next day the cheapest fuel was 161.3 at Atlas Fuel in Midvale and the most expensive 209.9 at Ampol Foodary Yangebup.
Mr Derecki said FuelWatch couldn’t make long-term predictions on prices, but in the short term prices had started to rise and that this was likely to continue.
Oil production cuts by the OPEC countries and increasing demand for oil in China, were leading to higher prices.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s latest quarterly report on the fuel industry found that between January and March, 2023, Perth continued to have the lowest average price of any state or territory capital.
The average in Perth was 176.6 centres per litre, down 3.2 cents compared to the previous quarter. Average fuel prices in Melbourne were 184.3 and the average price in Sydney was 185.1.