Petrol price drops almost eight cents

Petrol prices have fallen almost eight cents in the past week, the biggest slide in more than four years.

As pump price wars broke out across suburban Sydney, fresh data from the Australian
Institute of Petroleum showed the national average price of unleaded had fallen 7.7
cents to just below $1.40 a litre.
"The price of petrol could hit a 12-month low of $1.25 a litre in the next
fortnight, courtesy of lower oil prices and a firmer currency," CommSec's chief
equities economist Craig James said in a regular market briefing.
Institute research found Brisbane remained the cheapest capital city for motorists
with Darwin retaining its label as most expensive.
The biggest fall was recorded in Sydney where the average price fell by 9.5 cents to
$1.38 a litre.
The NRMA motoring association said Sydney's average bowser price for unleaded was
$1.32 on Monday.
In Melbourne, a spokesman for the RACV motoring group said the city's petrol prices
were the cheapest since October last year, below $1.30 a litre, with further falls
expected over the next week.
The spokesman, David Cumming, said regional prices had also dropped.
"Tomorrow in Melbourne the average price will be below $1.30 and by next week no
country area should be above $1.40," Mr Cumming told AAP.
Several factors had caused prices to fall, including the price of crude oil coming
down and Singapore's oil stockpiles increasing.
These resulted in a 19-cent reduction in the wholesale price last week, which was
now flowing through to bowser prices.
"It's been too slow," Mr Cumming said.
"The public feel they've been ripped off over the last few weeks. They've seen crude
oil prices come down without bowser prices falling."
Mr Cumming warned that the OPEC oil cartel was already threatening to restrict oil
supply to push prices back up.
"There's no guarantee these prices will stay."
Nonetheless, he said, the lower prices should last at least the next two weeks.
Last month OPEC said it would cut output by 1.5 million barrels a day to 27.3 million.
The announcement appears to have done little to stop the falling price.
Oil rose to $US147 a barrel in July but the price has since more than halved.
Mr James said the average Australian household was forking out almost $196 a month
on petrol, which was an eight-month low and a saving of $32 from the highs set in
mid July.