Petrol prices across the country have started to fall following 11-year highs in Melbourne and Adelaide last week, and record highs in Brisbane.
Both Melbourne and Adelaide petrol prices reached 166 cents per litre last week and NRMA spokesman, Peter Khoury, had warned customers that they were expecting Sydney petrol prices to also reach 11-year highs as we head into the long weekend.
Sydney prices reached 163 cents per litre last night, however, they have since dropped 2 cents to 163 cents per litre. Khoury told C&I that he expects these falls to continue nation-wide.
“We are expecting falls in those cities to continue over next couple of weeks to an average of 136 per litre,” said Khoury.
The increased volatility of world oil prices is to blame, said Khoury.
The recent attacks on a major oilfield and a nearby processing plant in Saudi Arabia have also increased uncertainty around petrol prices.
Saudi is the world’s biggest oil supplier and if its production is affected, the world oil price jumps.
AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said each $US1 increase per barrel in oil prices leads to a 0.9 cent lift in petrol prices per litre, assuming no change to the Australian dollar. Therefore, in a scenario where crude oil more than doubles to $US150 per barrel, petrol prices could surge above $2 per litre.