In Bendigo, the highest price for unleaded 91 fuel was 169.9 cents on Thursday and the average cost across the city was 133.6 cents from 26 petrol stations.

Average prices for regular unleaded reached 159.6 cents per litre over the past week in Melbourne with prices in Brisbane reaching as high as 172.6 cents per litre.

NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said the steady rise came as the OPEC countries continued to choke supply, artificially inflating global oil prices at a time when demand for oil was recovering globally.

"These high prices are hitting our essential workers the hardest as they are still travelling to work every day... (and) hurting at a time when the community needs relief the most," Mr Khoury said.

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"If you can hold off, customers can expect to see some relief at the bowser towards the end of the month with prices expected to fall close to 140 cents per litre at the low point of the cycle."

Australia's international benchmark price Singapore Mogas has continued to rise steadily to almost $US90 a barrel. Sydney's Terminal Gate Price has reached a 21-month high of 137.7 cents per litre.

Mr Khoury said if prices continued to increase, the average regular unleaded fuel price could jump to 170 cents per litre by October, the highest average fuel price since before the start of the global financial crisis in 2008.

The average price of a litre of petrol this week is 165.7 cents in Perth, 164.7 cents in Sydney, 146.9 cents in Darwin, 149.9 cents in Hobart, 136.4 cents in Adelaide and 150.6 cents in Canberra.

Australian Associated Press

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