Sky-high fuel prices are here to stay

With oil prices having settled above $US50 a barrel for the first time ever, petroleum executives meeting here during the weekend say the industry won’t be able to bring on enough extra supply in time to significantly tame high prices, due to the long lead times needed to prepare new fields.

Some industry observers say a substantial fall in prices isn’t likely until the cost of oil rises high enough to spur consumers to use less.

In Washington, finance ministers and central bankers of the so-called Group of Seven countries, the world’s largest industrial economies and great users of oil, fretted about oil prices damaging global economic growth prospects.

AustralianFinancialReview