Motorists can expect to see petrol prices fall by up to three cents a litre in the next fortnight, after fuel peaked last week, an economist says.
The average price of unleaded petrol rose 1.6 cents to 145.1 cents a litre in the week ending February 5, data from the Australian Institute of Petroleum shows.
The national weekly average metropolitan price rose 2.4 cents to 144.8 cents a litre, while the weekly average regional price fell by 0.1 of a cent to 145.8 cents a litre.
Commsec economist Savanth Sebastian said motorists could "breathe easier" for the next week.
"Petrol prices hit their peak last Thursday and are on the way down across all the capital cities," Mr Sebastian said in a statement on Monday.
"CommSec expects unleaded petrol to fall by 2-3 cents a litre over the next fortnight as cheaper global oil prices and the strong Australian dollar support cheaper fuel prices," he said.
Darwin remained the dearest city for unleaded petrol, despite the price falling 0.2 of a cent to 154.2 cents a litre, while Sydney had the cheapest, up 2.8 cents a litre to 143.6 cents a litre.
The weekly average price for unleaded petrol rose in all cities bar Canberra, Darwin and Hobart.
