Australian motorists are being slugged with surging petrol costs, with prices at the bowser rising sharply after falling over much of the Christmas period.

In a sign that service stations are pushing the petrol market to a new cyclical peak – the first of 2022 – average petrol prices in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne are rising rapidly this week.

Average daily prices at bowsers in Brisbane have skyrocketed 16.5 per cent to $1.75 per litre since New Year’s Day, while prices in Melbourne have risen 10.8 per cent to $1.72 over the same period.

Sydney motorists have so far avoided similar spikes, but petrol prices there have risen 2.2 per cent over the past week alone, suggesting the city is not too far behind the other eastern capitals.

Petrol prices are rising sharply across Australia’s three largest cities. Source: Motormouth

When to fill up in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney

It all comes after average bowser prices fell between 10 and 13 per cent across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane during December, which was welcome relief for motorists heading out for holidays and to the shops.

Average prices fell to $1.48 a litre in Melbourne, $1.51 in Brisbane and to $1.57 in Sydney at their lowest points in the petrol cycle last month.

But those days are now over, with motorists advised, if possible, to avoid filling up their tanks until prices begin to ease again after peaking in a few weeks.

Motorists in Sydney who need to fill up sooner should get in quick, however, as prices there are only just starting to rise and will be much higher next week.

As The New Daily has reported previously, fluctuating petrol prices aren’t unusual across Australia’s three largest cities, where service stations routinely raise and lower bowser rates in a semi-regular pattern known as the “discounting” or “price hike” cycles.

But filling up at the right time or shopping around for a better deal with petrol price comparison apps can save you hundreds of dollars a year, according to ACCC research.