Petrol Prices by Australian City: July 2026 Rates Rise as Fuel Excise Cut Halves Amid Middle East Conflict

Petrol prices across Australia's capital cities have climbed sharply in recent weeks, driven by a combination of the federal government halving its temporary fuel excise discount and ongoing volatility tied to the conflict in the Middle East, according to the latest figures from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and independent fuel price trackers.

The national average price for Unleaded 91 across Australia's capital cities stood at 170.1 cents per litre as of Sunday, July 5, up 12.2 cents on the previous week, according to fuel price monitoring service PetrolPulse. Diesel prices averaged 191.9 cents per litre nationally over the same period, with the cheapest reported bowser price at 159.9 cents per litre.

City-level data shows significant variation across the country. According to figures compiled by GDP.com.au tracking 2026 average unleaded prices by capital city, Darwin currently holds the highest average price nationally at 215 cents per litre, while Adelaide sits at the lower end of the spectrum at 193 cents per litre, illustrating the substantial gap that can exist between Australia's most and least expensive fuel markets depending on local supply chains, competition levels and state-based factors.

A significant driver behind the recent price increases has been a change to the federal government's fuel excise relief program. The government extended fuel excise relief for petrol and diesel from July 1 through August 2, but reduced the temporary excise cut from 32 cents per litre to 16 cents per litre starting July 1, according to the Fuel Plan website maintained by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. That halving of the discount was expected to push pump prices up by roughly 16 cents per litre, according to PetrolPulse, though the increase has flowed through to bowsers gradually over the following days and weeks rather than arriving all at once.

Despite the recent increases, current prices remain below levels seen before the excise relief program began. Retail petrol prices for Australia's five largest cities, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, were down 35% since the original excise cut took effect April 1, while diesel prices were down 42% over the same period, according to the ACCC's weekly fuel price monitoring report published July 10. Compared with pre-conflict levels, measured against the week ending February 20, average retail petrol prices for those five largest cities were still 3 cents per litre lower as of July 8, while average retail diesel prices were 9 cents per litre higher over the same comparison period.

The ACCC has continued issuing weekly fuel price monitoring updates specifically addressing the ongoing Middle East conflict's impact on the Australian fuel market, noting that average retail petrol and diesel prices in capital cities and most regional locations have continued to increase following the partial restoration of the fuel excise. The regulator has published a steady stream of weekly reports throughout the conflict period, tracking movements in crude oil prices, international refined fuel benchmarks, and domestic wholesale and retail fuel prices across capital cities and more than 190 regional locations nationwide.

Australia's fuel security has remained stable despite the international disruption, according to government officials tracking the situation. Approximately 3.5 billion litres of crude oil, diesel, jet fuel and petrol are scheduled to arrive in Australia from overseas over a rolling four-week window, with some shipments already in transit and others awaiting departure, according to data from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. That figure does not include supply from Australia's domestic refineries, which account for roughly 20% of the country's national fuel supply, or existing stocks already held within Australia. Domestic refining has also continued largely uninterrupted, with production at the Geelong refinery returning to more than 90% of normal capacity as of the most recent reporting period. Industry stakeholders have indicated that demand for fuel has generally run lower than normal throughout the conflict period, helping ease pressure on supply even amid broader market uncertainty.

Wholesale cost inputs, which typically flow through to retail pump prices within one to two weeks, have shown some signs of moderating in recent weeks even as retail prices climbed. Wholesale import costs held roughly steady week over week at an estimated 136.5 cents per litre as of early July, according to PetrolPulse, while Brent crude oil held largely flat at approximately $72.13 per barrel over the same period. Because Brent crude and the Australian dollar exchange rate together determine the wholesale cost of imported fuel landed at Australian terminals, alongside refining and shipping margins, movements in either of those two inputs typically take several weeks to be reflected at the pump.

For consumers looking to minimize fuel costs amid the current volatility, fuel price trackers have continued to emphasize the well-documented weekly price cycle that governs petrol pricing in several major Australian cities. According to GDP.com.au's analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics and ACCC data, prices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane typically bottom out midweek, with filling up on a Thursday rather than a Sunday potentially saving drivers around 15 cents per litre, or roughly $8 on a 55-litre tank. Western Australia operates under a different, government-regulated Tuesday pricing cycle through its FuelWatch scheme, while Adelaide, Hobart and Darwin tend to follow less predictable pricing patterns that do not align as neatly with a fixed weekly rhythm.

Beyond timing fill-ups strategically, consumer advocates have also pointed to other straightforward ways drivers can reduce fuel costs, including stacking supermarket loyalty program discounts, such as those offered through Woolworths and Coles fuel dockets, and adopting more fuel-efficient driving habits, including maintaining steady speeds, keeping tyres properly inflated and removing roof racks when not in use, changes that can collectively reduce fuel consumption by an estimated 10% to 20%.

With the fuel excise relief program set to expire August 2 and the Middle East conflict continuing to introduce periodic volatility into international crude oil markets, analysts tracking Australia's fuel pricing environment say further fluctuations at the pump remain likely in the weeks ahead, even as underlying wholesale cost trends have shown some signs of easing pressure compared with the sharpest points of recent market disruption.