The cheapest suburbs to fuel up for the long weekend

Sydney motorists are urged to fuel up before petrol prices rise ahead of the long weekend.

New research from comparethemarket.com.au suggests Sydney drivers should fill up now, while motorists in most parts of the country should hold off and wait until the weekend when prices should continue to ease.

The website's quarterly petrol price analysis compared the average cost of unleaded petrol between June 24 and September 24 across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra.

Comparethemarket.com.au spokesperson Abigail Koch says the analysis shows that unleaded petrol prices around the country for the quarter reached an average of 122.7c per litre, dropping by about 4.5c compared with last quarter.

"This coming long weekend, motorists across most parts of the country can expect prices to ease but Sydneysiders might be slugged at the bowser as prices are on their way up after falling for the past three weeks."

Sydney

Sydneysiders have paid an average of 119.6c per litre over the last quarter, the lowest of any capital city, and lower than the previous quarter (123.2c for March 4-June 4).

Prices have been falling since September 6 and are nearing the bottom of the cycle. Motorists should fill up now before the long weekend.

Prices early this week were lowest in Sydney's south - Caringbah and Miranda had an average of 111.2c - and highest in the north-west's Maroota at 132.9c.

Blacktown has seen the cheapest petrol prices across the quarter at an average of 117.3c, which is the lowest of any region in Australia. Central western Sydney, Fairfield-Liverpool and the inner west are all reporting an average of 118.7c or less for the quarter. This contrasts with the eastern suburbs, where motorists have been stung by an average quarterly price of 125c a litre - the most expensive in any of the capital cities.

Melbourne

Motorists should avoid filling up in the lead-up to the long weekend, with prices having reached the top of the cycle.

Prices are expected to ease after the AFL grand final public holiday on Friday.

The average price of petrol in the city over the quarter was 121.6c, with the data revealing Essendon North and Tullamarine had the cheapest quarterly average at 120c.

Prices across the different parts of Melbourne during the quarter weren't as dispersed as they were in Sydney, with a 2.9c spread between the lowest and highest averages. The highest average price was 122.9c in the CBD and South Melbourne.

Bacchus Marsh reported the lowest average price for petrol earlier this week at 119.9c while 33 suburbs had the same highest average price of 142.9c, with Abbotsford and Footscray among them.

Brisbane

As with Melbourne, Brisbane motorists should avoid filling their tanks until prices drop further. They are at the top of the cycle but are anticipated to ease over the weekend. Across the quarter, motorists were paying an average of 123.3c for fuel.

Those filling up in West Brisbane were forking out an average of 123.5c across the quarter, while South Brisbane recorded the lowest average of 121.4c.

Early this week, Slacks Creek was the cheapest place to fill up, with an average price of 127.4c. The most expensive average price was 142.9c, found in 53 suburbs, including Ashgrove and Windsor.

Adelaide

It's good news for Adelaide as school holidays kick off. Prices peaked just over a week ago but given they are slowly on the way down motorists who can hold off filling up until the weekend could see further falls.

Throughout the quarter, residents paid the second lowest price for petrol out of the capital cities analysed at an average of 121.1c.

Motorists filling up in the western and beach suburbs enjoyed the lowest average price at 119.6c while those in the eastern suburbs paid the highest at 122.4c. Earlier this week Kilburn had the lowest at 125c while Norwood, Klemzig and Hectorville had the highest at 138.4c.

Perth

The seven-day price cycle is expected to spike on Tuesday and be near the lowest point of the cycle over the weekend.

Throughout the quarter, motorists were paying an average of 122.3c to fill up, with there being little variance across the city: the east had the lowest quarterly average of 121.5c and the north had 122.3c, while the south had the highest at 122.5c.

Earlier this week, the suburb of Southern River had the cheapest average price at 110.2c while Karragullen had the most expensive at 127.9c.

Canberra

According to the data, Canberra residents were paying the most for petrol throughout the period at an average of 128.4c.

After months of stability, prices went up towards the end of last week by around 4c but have already slid back by about 3c. As the long weekend approaches, prices are likely to remain unchanged, so motorists should shop around for a good deal.

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