Australian Petrol Prices Set To Escalate

Soaring oil prices over the past few weeks are set to escalte Australian Petrol Prices, set to hit $1.50 in the next few months

Soaring oil prices over the past few weeks are set to escalate Australian petrol prices at the bowser - a further setback to the Australian household budget and perhaps further consequences of higher costs of transport and hence leading to higher cost of goods. Petrol prices in Australia are set to hit $1.50 a litre and above within the next two months as a result of the recent surges of crude oil. Crude oil has hit a two decade high in the US on Friday, passing US$75 a barrel - closing at US$75.21, a record since the New York Mercantile Exchange started trading oil futures in 1983. In London, June Brent crude last traded up $US1.52 at $US74.70, after hitting $US74.77 a barrel, also a record.Petrol is already at $1.40 a litre in some areas. Monday is still the cheapest day to buy petrol.

Soaring oil prices were caused from the fears of a possible supply disruption in Iran and low US petrol supplies for the high oil price. US President George Bush has vowed to stop Iran from getting atomic weapons and has refused to rule out military options, including tactical nuclear strikes, if diplomacy fails. Fears of military action against Iran have added about $US10 to $US15 to the price of oil, Libya's top oil official Shokri Ghanem said on Friday. But he added that a peaceful resolution would not necessarily send the market back down.