Wholesale Petrol in Adelaide Fell 20.5 Cents in a Week. The Bowser Has Dropped 9 So Far

If unleaded looked a bit cheaper in Adelaide this morning, it was. But the bowser has come down less than half as far as the wholesale price.

Between Monday 2 November and Monday 9 November, Adelaide's average terminal gate price for unleaded fell from 225.0 to 204.5 cents a litre, according to the Australian Institute of Petroleum (AIP). That's 20.5 cents in five trading days. Terminal gate is what a servo pays to fill its tanker, and it's the nearest public measure of what the fuel itself costs.

Over the same week, the median unleaded price at Adelaide servos went from 226.9 to 217.9, across 289 metro sites lodging prices with South Australia's official fuel pricing scheme. Of the 228 servos with a current price at both points, 227 have cut and the other hasn't moved. (Prices as at 11:30am AEDT, Monday 9th Nov 2026.)

Why the bowser lags

The gap between pump and terminal isn't all profit. It covers freight, wages, rent and card fees. It also reflects fuel already sitting in the underground tank, bought at last week's prices. The ACCC says wholesale changes generally reach retail only when a site's stocks are replenished, and it puts the lag in the big cities at one to two weeks.

On the evening of 2 November, Adelaide's median sat just 1.9 cents above terminal gate. Today the gap is 13.4 cents.

That thin gap a week ago was the same lag running the other way, which is easy to forget when prices are falling. Wholesale rose 4.5 cents between 26 October and 2 November, and the Adelaide median barely moved, from 227.9 to 228.4.

We saw this in March

The AIP's figures show Adelaide wholesale unleaded peaked for the year at 249.8 cents on 26 March. By 31 March it was down to 230.9, while the ACCC recorded an average Adelaide retail price of 259.2. That's a gap of 28.3 cents. On 20 February, before the Middle East conflict escalated, it was 9.5 cents.

If the gap went back to 9.5 cents with wholesale where it is today, Adelaide's median would sit around 214. Wholesale can turn again, so treat that as rough arithmetic. Still, it suggests a few more cents may be on the way.

Two cents at a time

We've logged 1,387 separate unleaded cuts at Adelaide servos since the evening of 2 November, averaging about 2 cents each.

OTR runs 116 Adelaide sites, more than any other brand, and it moves in blocks. On Friday and Saturday it made three network cuts, each across more than 100 sites and mostly of exactly 2 cents. Then at 6am on Monday, 109 of its sites cut by 1 cent. OTR's unleaded now ranges from 208.4 at St Marys and Old Noarlunga to 222.9 at 33 sites, including Stepney and Kensington.

The south west is ahead

Across 31 servos in postcodes 5037 to 5050, taking in Edwardstown, St Marys and Panorama, the median is 211.4. The south, from Sheidow Park to Seaford, is close behind at 212.4 across 29 servos. The eastern suburbs, postcodes 5063 to 5076, sit at 222.9.

U Go St Marys was the cheapest this morning at 206.5, ahead of Leroy's Hackham in Huntfield Heights at 206.9 and Ampol Foodary Seaford Meadows at 207.0. Liberty Seaford, X Convenience Seaford, United Old Noarlunga and X Convenience Panorama are all on 207.5. In total, 30 Adelaide servos are at or under 210.

U Go St Marys is just 2 cents above today's terminal gate price. The posted wholesale figure isn't always what a servo pays, though. Market participants have told the ACCC that some deals have been done at "quite different prices" to it.

And diesel?

Our 5 November piece argued diesel would be last to fall, and the wholesale figures bear that out. Adelaide's terminal gate diesel price fell 10.1 cents over the week to 254.2, about half the petrol fall. The median regular diesel price across 40 Adelaide servos went from 268.7 to 261.1.

So diesel has passed on about three quarters of its smaller fall, while petrol has passed on less than half of its larger one. If you're watching diesel prices, don't expect much more relief from this round.

What it means for your next fill

Wholesale has done its part this week. Whether Adelaide's bowsers catch up depends on it holding near 204.5 while servos sell through the dearer fuel already in their tanks.