Petrol may hit $1.20 a litre in Tasmanian

www.themercury.news.com.au By KANE YOUNG 22feb03

TASMANIAN petrol prices could soar to more than $1.20 a litre if war breaks out in Iraq, the Tasmanian Automobile Chamber of Commerce warned yesterday. With world oil prices having reached a 2-1 year high, Tasmanian petrol prices have already cracked the $1 barrier and chamber general manager Malcolm Little says there may be worse to come.

"It wouldn't take very much for prices to get to $1.20 per litre," he said.

Mr Little said the price rises would affect the whole country, with Tasmania hit especially hard because of a 2c a litre premium paid by Tasmanian distributors.

The price of petrol is currently more than $1 a litre in most Australian capital cities, with Sydney motorists paying up to $1.10 a litre this week.

Mr Little said some international observers had predicted prices would rise to as much as $1.50 a litre, although he personally doubts the situation would get that bad.

He said several international factors had driven up Tasmanian prices lately, including the threat of war in Iraq, a general strike in Venezuela, and the heavy demand for oil during the Northern Hemisphere winter.

"At the end of the day, it's not you and me buying the product, or even the service station owners, who determine the prices," he said.

Mr Little called on motorists not to get angry when service station owners were forced to raise their prices.

"As prices go up, there is only ever one winner - the Federal Government," Mr Little said. "Service stations merely make a margin, and their prices reflect their costs.

"They are not winners in this, they are just doing their job.

"There's no point venting your frustration at service stations, just as there's no point venting your frustrations at grocery store owners when their prices go up."