‘Not going to be pretty’: Australian petrol prices on track for new high

Australian motorists may soon have to dig a little deeper to pay for their fuel after global prices rose to fresh seven-year highs amid mounting worries about a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Oil prices rose more than 2% overnight, with benchmark indices near the symbolic US$100 a barrel mark. Brent crude, for instance, rose 2.2% to US$96.48 in US trading before easing back slightly in Asia on Tuesday.

Australian's retail petrol prices are already at record levels, averaging 176.9 cents a litre in the week to 13 February, according to the Australian Institute of Petroleum.

Peter Khoury, the head of media at NRMA in New South Wales, expects average prices to rise to 180 cents a litre or higher in coming days, noting Brisbane prices had already reached 192 cents for unleaded.

"It's not going to be pretty," he said. "It's going to continue to go up."

Quite apart from any immediate disruptions to supply should Russia invade Ukraine, the likelihood of heavy sanctions being slapped on one of the world's biggest oil producers would likely push oil prices higher.

"There's some real concern now that oil is going to breach $US100 per barrel," Khoury said. "We're hoping the average in Australia doesn't hit $2 a litre but we'll be monitoring it."