$US70 oil will cost us billions: ABARE

Tens of billions of dollars will be knocked off the Australian economy if oil prices move up towards the $US70 a barrel mark next year, a new study has found.

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, in a report into the impact of higher oil prices on the Asia-Pacific region, found 0.3 per cent of gross national product would be lost if oil averaged about $US70 a barrel next year.