Price of petrol + Big Mac + Bank interest rate in Australia March 2026

Welcome to my updated monthly report on key financial figures for Australia. These are important to me but may offer some interest for you too. I am doing this to keep historical notes through my life. These figures reported are what I see at the various places and an aggregate.

The price of petrol I paid during March 2026 probably averaged $2.50 for unleaded 91 Octane. Add up to 15c for 95 or 25c for 98. It’s relative of course due to fluctuation. The 1st week was 2.20 rising to 2.50 at the time of the post.   

The price of diesel has seen the largest price jump from around $1.90 to now $3.20. Yes, that is a huge price jump. Adblue is still priced at about $2 per litre.

Following the developments during March in the US market regarding tariffs : Tariffs are definitely off the news cycles I write this due to new war against Iran but that does not make the problem go away.  Unfortunately the result has been reduced oil extraction, production, shipping and uncertainty. Even Venezuela and Ukraine are long forgotten dramas. History is repeating its self and only rises and price inflation is here to stay.  

The price of a Big Mac in March 2026 now averages $8.40. The price for the burger alone does vary from store to store based on location! This time it was the usual shopping centre location. The medium sized meal deal which included fries and a drink costs about $13.55 and the large option is still $14.45 as per my monthly visit. As always this is not a fixed price as McDonald’s has a very active app and promotional pricing and freebie schedule.

The RBA – Reverse Bank of Australia the country’s central bank kept the interest rate to 3.85 % 
The variable home loan interest rate range in March 2026 in Australia was : 4.5% – 9.5%
The saving interest rate range in March 2026 in Australia was : 0 – 5%
Note that the rates I saw came with conditions or short term promotion periods – very naughty. 

Note that fuel prices also vary according to area, the level of competition and a whole heap of other factors like shopping discounts, wars, world wide economics and so forth, however unreasonable high prices (relative to crude oil prices) is greed. Also note that the Octane level I post here represents Australian measurement which is different from those in other countries eg. US.

Apart from the actual prices I paid at the servo the websites I use to research the crude oil pricing are:

Australian Institute of Petroleum (Note that they AIP represents the oil companies.)
Index Mundi (Seems independent)