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Highlights
- Petrol prices in Australia are anticipated to exceed AU$2 per litre mark amid conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
- The US President Joe Biden has announced an immediate ban over Russian crude imports amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
- Petrol prices soared to a record 183.9 cents last week in Australia.
Prices of petrol are expected to exceed AU$2 per litre in Australia in the coming days due to the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. As a result, the consumer authorities have urged motorists to fill up now.
On Tuesday, the metro average of petrol price was AU$1.79 per litre, which jumped nearly 30 cents per litre on Wednesday.
Related read - Woodside (ASX:WPL) shares gain as Russia-Ukraine war intensifies
According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum data, the national average for unleaded petrol has reached 183.9c per litre in the previous week ended 6 March 2022.
Meanwhile, the metropolitan regions in Hobart and Melbourne have been the worst hit with an average petrol price of 196.9 and 191.3c per litre respectively.
The last time the country witnessed a record cost was AU$2.07 per litre on 23 February, as per media reports. However, the diesel price is also expected to increase to an average of AU$1.89.
As Russia-Ukraine War Intensifies, Commodities Also Soars
Russia-Ukraine war impacting prices
The ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia has been creating instability in the international commodities market.
Image source – © Adonis1969 | Megapixl.com
The United States President Joe Biden has imposed an immediate ban on Russian oil, including other energy imports. This means Russian oil will no longer be acceptable at US ports and will impact global crude oil supplies.
Russia is the world’s biggest exporter of crude and oil products and exports around 4 million barrels of crude oil every day to the West. It contributes around 7% to the global crude oil supplies.
Due to this uncertainty petrol prices soared to a record 183.9 cents last week. With the latest ban on Russian crude imports, analysts are expecting even higher petrol prices in the coming days.
COVID-19 impacting petrol prices
Apart from the Russia and Ukraine conflict, another reason for this price surge can be high demand from the countries opening up after the COVID-19 pandemic.
As economies are bouncing back from COVID, increased travel and demand for oil have impacted the prices.
Bottomline
Given the uncertainty in the global oil market, there are chances that petrol prices in Australia can hit even AU$2.15. However, if the petrol prices increase, it can have a knock-on effect on groceries and other consumer goods in Australia.
