Fair price watch
Are you paying a fair price for fuel in Australia?
Right now Australia retailers are charging about 10c per litre above the wholesale terminal gate price for U91, before excise and GST. Track the retail margin and see when prices are genuinely fair.
FAIR
U91 margin is 10.2c per litre
The retail margin is 10.2c per litre — within the normal 12–18c band. Prices are about as fair as they get right now.
164.3c
154.1c
10.2c
~50c excise + GST
Are you paying a fair price at the bowser?
Compares today's national average retail price to the terminal gate price (TGP) — what retailers pay wholesale for fuel before it hits the bowser. The gap is what covers transport, freight, retailer costs and profit.
U91
FairWholesale (TGP)
154.1¢Retail avg
164.3¢+10.2¢/L retail margin — Retailers are passing on wholesale prices.
Diesel
ElevatedWholesale (TGP)
170.9¢Retail avg
189.0¢+18.1¢/L retail margin — Retail margins are above average — shop around.
Source: Terminal Gate Pricing from the Australian Institute of Petroleum, retail averages from FuelRadar live station data.
Live market context
Retail vs wholesale, fuel by fuel
How far above the terminal gate price each grade is being sold across Australia right now.
Brent crude
Global crude benchmark. Large moves usually filter into Australian wholesale prices with a delay.
AUD/USD
Fuel is traded in US dollars. A weaker AUD increases local import costs.
Retail-TGP
Gap between the national U91 retail average and terminal gate wholesale benchmark.
Petrol cover
Reported national petrol stock cover in days.
Diesel cover
Reported national diesel stock cover in days.
Jet cover
Reported national jet fuel stock cover in days.
Stations dry
Stations with at least one fuel grade currently reported as unavailable.
Average by fuel type
Source: National retail price reporting, refreshed hourly.
Wholesale by city
Wholesale price by capital city
What retailers in each capital pay at the terminal gate before tax and margin, Australia-wide. Compare it against your local pump price to judge the margin.
| Capital city | U91 wholesale | Diesel wholesale |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 153.8c | 171.7c |
| Melbourne | 153.9c | 172.8c |
| Brisbane | 154.1c | 171.3c |
| Adelaide | 153.5c | 170.5c |
| Perth | 153.0c | 166.7c |
| Darwin | 163.4c | 182.4c |
| Hobart | 159.3c | 175.6c |
How fair pricing works
Wholesale vs retail, explained
The pump price is the wholesale terminal gate price, plus tax, plus the retailer margin. Here is how to read it.
Terminal gate price (TGP)
The published wholesale price retailers pay at the fuel terminal, set daily. It moves with Brent crude and the AUD/USD exchange rate, usually 1-2 weeks behind global moves.
Tax: excise + GST
Fuel excise is around 50c per litre and GST adds 10% on top. Together they are a large, fixed slice of every litre — unrelated to whether the retailer's margin is fair.
The retail margin
What is left after wholesale and tax is the retailer's margin. A margin sustained above 25c per litre typically reflects pricing discipline rather than rising costs — that is when prices are least fair.
What you can do
You cannot change wholesale or tax, but the margin is where competition bites. Comparing stations and filling near the cycle trough routinely beats the average by 10-30c/L.
Frequently asked
Fair fuel pricing FAQ
U91 retailers are currently charging about 10c per litre above the wholesale terminal gate price (c164 retail vs c154 wholesale). A retail margin sustained above 25c per litre usually signals retailer pricing discipline rather than higher wholesale costs.
More fuel reports
Compare every FuelRadar report
Each report answers a different question — where fuel is cheapest right now, what just changed, and what is pushing prices up or down.
See fair prices near you
Fair pricing is really about the retailer margin — the part you can influence by choosing where and when to fill.
Open the live map to see which stations near you are closest to the wholesale price, or check the full market dashboard for the signals behind today's prices.
Next step
See where you sit in the cycle
This page shows the wider market. The map adds current station prices, distance, fuel type and directions — so you know whether to fill up now or wait.
FuelRadar Australia app
Know when to fill up with FuelRadar Australia
Use the FuelRadar app for the buy-or-wait call, next-drop alerts, saved stations and live prices when you are already out.
