It's one of the most-asked questions about petrol prices, and the honest answer is: it depends on where you live and where you are in the price cycle, not on a fixed day of the week.
Cities with a price cycle
In Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, unleaded prices rise sharply and then fall slowly over days or weeks (how fuel price cycles work). The cheapest time is near the end of the falling part of the cycle, just before the next jump. Because cycle lengths change, that won't always land on the same day of the week.
Perth: you can see tomorrow's price
In WA, stations publish tomorrow's price the afternoon before, and it's fixed for the whole day from 6 am. So in Perth you can simply compare today's and tomorrow's prices and pick the cheaper day. Fuelroo shows both.
Regional areas
Outside the big cities prices usually change less often and follow wholesale costs. Comparing stations matters more there than timing: the gap between the cheapest and dearest station in town can be bigger than any day-to-day change.
How to know when to buy
- Check our weekly reports to see whether prices are rising or falling where you live: Sydney · Melbourne · Brisbane · Perth · Adelaide · Canberra · Hobart · Darwin · Gold Coast · Newcastle · Wollongong · Geelong.
- Use the Trends tab in the Fuelroo app for your area.
- Set a price alert, and let Fuelroo tell you when it's time.