'More dangerous': The numbers on this sign raise a bigger question

Australians are being warned that the high prices currently being paid at fuel stations could be "the new normal" as a resumption of the full fuel excise combines with a flare-up in the Middle East.

Escalation in the war, which has dragged on since the end of February with little end in sight , has pushed oil prices to their highest level since April, driving Australian fuel costs back toward their peak.

Alison Reeve, program director of energy and climate at the Grattan Institute, told SBS News that the broader issue is volatility.

While Australians can "adjust to a new normal" of sustained high fuel costs, it's "volatility that's actually more dangerous to the economy than a price that goes high and stays high", she said.

While Australians may be able to adjust to higher prices, fluctuating prices make it more challenging for governments, industry, and households to plan ahead.

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"Volatility feels like it's going to be the new normal because we're just in a much more geopolitically disrupted age," she said.

Australia imports around 90 per cent of its refined and crude oil, making it heavily exposed to global market dynamics which are currently being driven by conflict around the world.

In recent weeks, Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen seized control of the vital Bab al-Mandeb strait and disabled the crucial Saudi Arabian East-West pipeline, significantly hampering the key oil producer.

Ukraine's attacks on Russian oil facilities have caused a diesel shortage worldwide, which could well be exacerbated by United States President Donald Trump's threat on Wednesday to cut US diesel exports.

While Saudi Arabia has reportedly restarted the East-West pipeline, the combination of global disruption and a weak Australian dollar has left consumers facing the steepest price for a full tank in months.

The NRMA's latest petrol report found that regular unleaded in Sydney climbed more than 20 cents in the past week, with diesel rising 24 cents, to averages of 237.8 and 286.1 per litre.

On Saturday, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said consumers should expect the "crisis" in Saudi Arabia and Iran to "flow through to prices here".

Bowen also noted that the country has more fuel on-shore now than it did at the outbreak of the conflict.