warning cheap petrol day secretly moved

Petrol stations secretly shift cheapest petrol day to Thursday from Tuesday

Georgie Pilcher From: December 08, 2009 12:00AM

PETROL stations have secretly shifted the cheapest time of the week to buy fuel from Tuesday to Thursday, catching out thousands of unsuspecting motorists.

Analysis of petrol pricing by the RACV has revealed, after more than a decade of cheap Tuesdays, petrol stations across the state have shifted the cheap pricing cycle to Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning.

RACV chief engineer Michael Case said it was now up to 12c cheaper to buy fuel on Thursday mornings than Tuesdays. "The shift was progressive and subtle. It didn't just change overnight," he said.

The average price of unleaded petrol in Melbourne yesterday was 121.8c a litre, with Friday still the most expensive day.

"Originally (the cheapest) was Tuesday and part of Wednesday," he said.

"Now there is some evidence it is moving to Wednesday and part of Thursday."

Mr Case said the price change had occurred in the past four weeks and so far no petrol station or company had advertised it.

He said there was as yet no research indicating consumers were aware of the trend.

BP Australia spokesman Jamie Jardine yesterday said recent observations supported the trend but denied the price shift was designed to catch motorists out in the lead-up to Christmas.

"How can you be subtle or sneaky about a product where you display its price on a price board twice the size of a house?" Mr Jardine said.

"The information is there and available to consumers."

He said he couldn't explain the price change, which was a result of the market.

Caltex Australia spokeswoman Georgie Wells said they, too, had observed the trend but priced their petrol competitively. She refused to say which day was the cheapest to buy fuel.

"Price cycles are the result of service stations competing with each other on prices. They are a sign of healthy competition," she said.

Petrol prices have also continued to trend higher in the past week, but volatile swings in wholesale prices and the Australian dollar are making cost predictions difficult.

Latest figures show the national average price rose for a second straight week up by 0.3c a litre to 121.80c, near a three-month high.













http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/petrol-stations-secretly-shift-cheapest-petrol-day-to-thursday-from-tuesday/story-e6frf7jo-1225807913686