Hobart Unleaded Took Ten Days to Rise 20 Cents and a Week to Ease 3

Hobart Unleaded Took Ten Days to Rise 20 Cents and a Week to Ease 3

At 2:10pm AEST on 1st Oct 2026, the 44 servos around Hobart with a full three week price record average 241.8 cents a litre for unleaded. On 24th Sep the same servos averaged 244.7, and on 14th Sep they averaged 224.1.

So the board climbed 20.6 cents in ten days, then gave back 2.9 cents in seven. Economists call this pattern "rockets and feathers", and it explains a lot about where to fill up in southern Tasmania this week.

Why prices rise fast and fall slowly

Think of it this way. When costs rise, every retailer feels the squeeze at once. Lifting the board carries little risk, because the servo down the road is about to do the same.

Cutting is different. Every cent off the board is a cent less margin on every litre sold, so no retailer wants to go first. Usually it takes a nearby rival cutting and drawing customers away.

Competition decides how quickly a fall arrives. Hobart doesn't run the regular discount cycle seen in the mainland capitals, so there is no sharp reset to bring prices down in one go. Instead the fall comes one servo at a time, and it reaches the busiest areas first.

The city and the eastern shore lead the way down

The 27 servos within about eight kilometres of the CBD averaged 243.5 on 24th Sep and 240.3 today. Shell Reddy Express Hobart is at 239.9, 8 cents under its peak. Ampol Hobart South and the Ampol on Macquarie Street are both down 7 cents, and Shell Reddy Express Sandy Bay is down 6 to 242.9.

Across the Derwent, Howrah has five servos between 235.7 and 236.9 after cuts of 4 to 6 cents. The unmanned U Go site in Lindisfarne is at 232.9. All three Cambridge servos have dropped 6 to 7 cents, and the unmanned Shell TAS Petroleum site there is also at 232.9.

The outer towns have barely moved

The seven servos in Sorell, Midway Point, Brighton and Richmond averaged 251.2 on 24th Sep and 250.4 today, an ease of just 0.8 cents. Sorell's three unleaded sites all sit at 251.9, one cent under their peak. Brighton's BP and Shell are at 249.9, and Ampol Midway Point went the other way, lifting 1.5 cents on 25th Sep to 251.4.

The gap between the inner suburbs and these towns was 4.8 cents on 14th Sep. Today it is 10.1 cents. Shell Reddy Express Howrah sells unleaded for 235.9, while Shell Reddy Express Sorell, 17 kilometres away, asks 251.9. It is the same Shell sign selling the same fuel, yet the two boards are 16 cents apart.

You might be wondering why Sorell hasn't followed. Its three servos are all major brands within 700 metres of each other, and there is no independent among them. None of them has a reason to be the first to cut, so none of them has.

New Norfolk shows the mechanism at work

In New Norfolk, one servo has broken ranks. Late on 26th Sep, Astron New Norfolk cut unleaded by 10 cents to 229.9, the cheapest price in our Hobart sample.

The Ampol Mood Food site about 150 metres away on Burnett Street held at 249.9 for another three and a half days, then eased 4 cents to 245.9 on 30th Sep. EG Ampol on High Street made the same move. That is the feather in action. A rival cut 10 cents, and the neighbours took their time before matching less than half of it.

E10 and diesel

Only three United sites around Hobart list E10, each 5 cents under its own unleaded, with United North Hobart cheapest at 232.9. Compare E10 prices if your car can use it.

Diesel shows the same divide. Regular diesel is 269.9 at Shell TAS Petroleum in Cambridge and 297.9 at Shell Reddy Express Sorell, about nine kilometres further east. Check current diesel prices before a long run.

What this means for your next fill

Cuts reach the competitive areas first. If you live in Sorell, filling up in Cambridge on your way into town saves 19 cents a litre, or $9.50 on a 50 litre tank.

It is also worth keeping an eye on the outer towns. If inner Hobart keeps easing while Sorell and Brighton hold, the gap will widen. Our price trends page tracks the movement, and live unleaded petrol prices show you the lowest board before you leave home.

Prices tend to rise together but fall one competitor at a time. Knowing that tells you where the next cut is likely to appear, and in greater Hobart this week, that is not the outskirts.