Retail petrol prices across Australia have moved higher in the March quarter of 2025 due to a lower AUS to USD cash exchange rate.
According to the ACCC’s latest quarterly petrol report, the rise can be seen across Australia’s five largest cities. In the March quarter, retail petrol prices across Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth were 182.2 cents per litre (cpl), which is a 2.4 cpl increase from the previous quarter.
Quarterly prices were higher in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth and marginally lower in Melbourne and Adelaide.
The same trend can be seen in smaller capital cities and across regional locations.
Canberra, Hobart and Darwin were higher than last quarter, with retail petrol prices in Canberra being the highest of all eight capital cities.
The ACCC also found that retail prices were 184.3 cpl across 190 regional locations, which is an increase of 4.8 cpl. Regional petrol retail prices were also 2.1 cpl higher than those of the five largest cities on average.
ACCC commissioner Anna Brakey said she encouraged consumers to use means like fuel apps to find the cheapest prices possible and save money.
“Fuel price transparency schemes collect price data for display on fuel price apps and websites,” Brakey said.
“In January, the Victorian Government announced a price transparency scheme to be phased in over 2025, which would then mean every jurisdiction in Australia is covered by one of these schemes.”
The higher retail petrol prices are reflective of the lower AUD-USD exchange rate, which makes the international cost of refined petrol relatively more expensive in Australian dollar terms.
In the March quarter of 2025, the exchange rate averaged US62.7 cents, which is the lowest it has been in 20 years.
The international price of refined petrol (Mogas 95) is traded in US dollars.
“The lower AUD-USD exchange rate meant that consumers paid higher prices on average at the bowser in the most recent quarter,” Brakey said.
Diesel prices have also increased across all capital cities. Within the five largest cities, diesel prices grew 9.8 cpl from last quarter to 186.9 cpl.
This follows four consecutive quarters of decline in diesel prices.
