Retail petrol prices increased across Australia’s five largest cities in the March quarter 2025, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) latest quarterly report.
Average prices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth rose to 182.2 cents per litre (cpl), up 2.4 cpl from the previous quarter. The increase was mainly due to a weaker Australian dollar.
“The lower AUD-USD exchange rate meant that consumers paid higher prices on average at the bowser in the most recent quarter,” said ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey.
The average exchange rate fell to US 62.7 cents, the lowest quarterly rate in over 20 years. This made internationally traded refined petrol more expensive in Australian dollar terms. Mogas 95, the global benchmark for refined petrol, rose by 2.9 cpl due to the exchange rate shift, despite otherwise trending down with falling crude oil prices.
While prices increased in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide saw minor declines of 0.7 cpl and 0.4 cpl, respectively.
Retail margins, known as gross indicative retail differences, fell by 2.8 cpl to 14.4 cpl on average. Brisbane recorded the highest retail margin (24.2 cpl), while Adelaide had the lowest (7.6 cpl).
Prices also rose in smaller capitals, with Canberra recording the highest average price. Regional areas saw a sharper increase of 4.8 cpl, reaching 184.3 cpl on average — 2.1 cpl higher than the five major cities.
“We continue to encourage consumers to use information available through fuel price apps and websites to find lower priced retailers and save money where possible,” Brakey said.
Diesel prices also rose across all eight capital cities for the first time in four quarters. In the five major cities, diesel averaged 186.9 cpl, up 9.8 cpl.
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