EzySt Fuel Gauge - monthly roundup for October
People power keeps petrol prices down this month (in Brisbane anyway)
Brisbanites were in luck this month as the normal pattern of the petrol price cycle exploded - the price increase phase took a whopping 12 days as fuel discounters held their prices lower for longer. A decade ago (before fuel price information was freely available to the public in apps like EzySt), it would take a matter of hours for prices across the market to reach the top. Now, canny motorists who shop around enjoy big savings by comparing retailers and their price movements.
Highlighted fuel trends this month
We saw a 40c difference between the highest and low price for ULP/E10 over each week in most areas of capital cities during October. That meant motorists could’ve expected to save $16 per fill (based on an average 50L fill) simply by shopping around in their part of the city.
Melbourne petrol prices significantly increased just in time for relaxed COVID restrictions. While there is no connection between the two events, it does mean that Melburnians itching for a cheap drive will need to wait about 3 weeks before prices are lower again.
Back to The Future with the return of Ampol?
You’re about to be sent back to the 90’s as you see the Ampol brand replace Caltex around the country. Whether the motto “Proudly Australian” will appear again is yet to be seen, but the new logo is certainly more modern - perhaps intended to break the connection for those that recall the “old” Ampol service stations being a bit… gritty.
Why has this happened? Well Ampol (formerly Caltex Australia) lost the rights to use the name “Caltex” - which incidentally is owned by Chevron, the parent company of Queensland-based Puma Energy. The big question is will “Puma Energy” soon be renamed “Caltex”? All these names and brands…anyone else confused?
How much could you save?
It certainly pays to shop around. Apps like EzySt allow you to find the best priced fuel before you set out. Take a look at the table below to see what you could have saved in your local area over the last month*:
*Average of the weekly spread of prices (being the difference between the highest price and lowest price in a week). Period reviewed is 1 October to and including 10am AEDT 28 October, with weeks being Monday – Sunday (or part weeks as appropriate for this period). Our database has 7600 service stations nationwide.
** Saving is how much you could save by buying at the lowest price instead of the most expensive (based on the spread of prices above)
All the best
The EzySt team