The Russian invasion of Ukraine, on top of the refusal of OPEC nations to increase crude oil production, pushed February prices for Australian petrol prices in the five largest capital cities to an eight-year high. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) latest quarterly petrol report found that the daily average petrol prices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth was 182.4 cents per litre (US$5 a gallon) in late February. This is the highest inflation-adjusted level since 2014, at a time of strong international demand, conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, and a lower Australian exchange rate. In the first half of March, prices have accelerated towards 220 cents a litre, surpassing the previous record, with no signs of slowing. In June 2008, during the Global Financial Crisis, daily average prices reached an equivalent to 213 cents per litre (US$5.87 a gallon) in today’s dollars. “The world was …