Record high petrol prices 'unlikely to ease'
Updated at 6:03 am on 23 August 2012
An economist is predicting record high petrol prices will continue.
All the major petrol retailers except Gull have raised their prices for 91 octane to just below $2.23 a litre.
Savanth Sebastian of Australia-based firm Commonwealth Securities says the retailers are matching the rising cost of refined product they get from Singapore.
He says the cost of a barrel of unleaded fuel has jumped $30 in just seven weeks, mainly because of an increase in demand as fears grow that Middle East tensions could put oil supply at risk.
Mr Sebastian says demand is also being bolstered by growing optimism about the financial situation in Europe, so petrol prices will probably stay high for a while.
Copyright © 2012, Radio New Zealand
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