High fuel prices are the unwanted Christmas gift that every motorist receives, but some states will fare better than others this year.

The National Roads and Motorists' Association (NRMA) has predicted motorists will need deeper pockets in Brisbane and Melbourne, while prices in Sydney fuel prices are tipped to fall during the Christmas period.

Sydney fuel prices hit a high point of 200.6 cents per litre for regular unleaded on Monday December 2.

By Thursday, December 19, almost one-third of Sydney service stations were selling regular unleaded for under 183 cents per litre while 22 per cent of service stations were still charging over $2 per litre.

According to the NRMA, prices in Sydney are falling at half the usual rate.

Sydney’s wholesale fuel price is currently 166.5 cents per litre and rising.

Mogas - Australia’s international benchmark price - is currently trading at just over $US 86 a barrel.

Changes in international benchmark prices can take around two weeks to work their way through the supply chain in Australian cities and are determined by changing global demand and supply factors.

Last week, prices in Melbourne continued to climb at 192 cents per litre and Brisbane neared the high point at 203.8 cents per litre.

Western Plains App journalists spoke to Coonamble Fuel Centre, Ampol Nyngan and Powerfuel at Condobolin to gauge the pricing and supply across the Western Plains.

While choosing not to comment on pricing, each spokesperson confirmed they will be well stocked for fuel over the Christmas period.

"It's one of the busiest times of year, but we don't expect to run short on fuel," a spokesperson at Condobolin's Powerfuel outlet said.

"We just treat this period as normal, it's busy but we are ready for it," was the word from Coonamble Fuel Centre.

NRMA Spokesperson Peter Khoury said the difference in petrol prices across our major cities highlighted the need for motorists to stay informed and look for the best prices available.

Current fuel prices, such as these at Coonabarabran, can be displayed at the click of a button on the FuelCheck app.

“It’s pleasing the cycle is falling in Sydney, what’s less pleasing is that those falls are happening at a snail’s pace at two-thirds of a cent per day, – the oil companies must fix this now,” Mr Khoury said.

“Brisbane and Melbourne have had less luck with the price cycles as their local prices with spike just as families are heading away.

"Cost of living pressures continue to hurt families who desperately need a break and unfortunately, geography will largely dictate how much they pay this Christmas."

Factors affecting regional fuel prices

In what is no surprise for Western Plains residents, the NRMA state that regional fuel retailers may not sell their fuel stocks as quickly as city retailers.

This means when there is any change in the international benchmark and wholesale prices of fuel, it generally takes longer to impact on country retail prices.

As a result, while prices in regional areas might fall slowly, they also tend to rise slowly. 

Cities also have price cycles come into play which rarely happens in the regions.

A petrol price cycle is a movement in retail price from a low to high point to a subsequent low point.

In these cycles, prices steadily go down for a period, followed by a sharp increase.

Price cycles are the result of deliberate pricing policies of petrol retailers in metro areas and are not directly related to changes in wholesale costs.

The duration of petrol price cycles in Sydney varies from each time.

What has changed in recent years?

Until around 2020, unleaded fuel prices in regional NSW towns tended to be about five to seven cents a litre more expensive on average than in Sydney.

But since the pandemic, more people have moved to regional areas.

This extra traffic outside metro areas has created more demand for fuel regionally and higher margins over time have enabled some regional service stations to sell cheaper fuel.

Whereas global factors, like geopolitical events and global supply and demand, determine the price of fuel that arrives in Australia and federal government taxes add extra costs, local factors – like the location of a service station, the type of service station

and competition in the local area - determine local price differences.

Monitoring fuel prices in real time is a great way to keep on top of prices and fuel up most economically.

FuelCheck is a free online service from the NSW Government that will provide you with real-time information about fuel prices.

This handy tool helps you find the cheapest fuel and lets you know the best day of the week to fill up your vehicle.

It will bring up all towns across the Western Plains on a map, showing where fuel is available and the current price of all types of fuel.

It can be downloaded as an app or used by clicking here.