Billy

MOTORISTS in New South Wales can expect petrol prices to rise towards $2 a litre as the global price of oil moves beyond $US70 a barrel, industry experts say.
Prices leading up to the Easter period peaked around the $1.36 a litre mark in Sydney, but could increase to as much as $1.45 a litre during the next few weeks, Service Station Association chief executive officer Ron Bowden said today.
And in a prediction that will give no comfort to motorists, Mr Bowden said the price of crude oil would continue climbing and petrol prices could eventually reach $2 a litre.
"Two dollars a litre is quite possible. It's not that long ago that petrol was 70c a litre, and now it's doubled.
"With a diminishing supply what's to stop it doubling again?"
The Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) says petrol prices in Melbourne will likely jumpover $1.35 by mid-week.

The average price in Melbourne today was 123.8 cents per litre, but that would rise as increasing oil prices and global demand forced the local market out of the current "discount cycle," said RACV government and corporate relations manager David Cumming.
Mr Cumming said the price of oil was only part of the equation in determining petrol prices, with competitive market forces, a nervous world market and a built-in "war premium" pushing prices up.
"You only need to have sanctions on Iran or another explosion in Iraq and the sky's the limit," he said.
NRMA president Alan Evans said after spiking at an average of $1.36 a litre, NSW prices dropped by as much as six cents over the Easter weekend.
The drop was the result of petrol companies over-estimating demand for petrol during the holiday weekend, Mr Evans said.
But with oil now hitting $US70 a barrel, Mr Evans said NSW prices could be expected to rise to the $1.35 a litre mark by the end of this week, and to more than $1.40 by Anzac Day next Tuesday.
Mr Evans predicted the $1.40 a litre mark would hit sales of large cars such as the six-cylinder Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon, as people moved to more fuel-efficient four-cylinder cars.
"When you've got to pay $100 for your tank then that's a psychological barrier for a lot of people," Mr Evans said.
In Western Australia, motorists can expect to pay more than $1.30 a litre for petrol because of soaring international oil prices, the Motor Trade Association (MTA) says.
Motorists paid about $1.26 per litre for petrol during the Easter long weekend, MTA Western Australia chief executive Peter Fitzpatrick said today. They could soon find themselves paying well into the $1.30s for fuel after oil surged to more than $US70 a barrel overnight, he said. "The prices are certainly going to go up, whether they will do another fuel cycle this week or the next is hard to see," Mr Fitzpatrick said.
Courtesy: http://finance.news.com.au/story/0,1...66-462,00.html

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