Get used to cost of petrol: IMF

COUNTRIES such as Australia that rely on oil imports must not cave in to public demands for petrol price relief, the International Monetary Fund warns.

Consumers must be fully exposed to rocketing prices and learn to change their consumption habits, the IMF says in a report released today.

The price of a litre of unleaded petrol rose from $1.16 to $1.30 (per litre) in one day last week. The IMF says that if consumers in net oil-importing countries felt the full force of market price signals on oil, it could prevent countries such as Australia from falling further into debt.

Sydney Morning Herald.