Australian Commonwealth Securities economist Savanth Sebastian said on Tuesday motorists could see a 5 Australian cents (35 US cents) drop in petrol prices during the next fortnight as the global oil price falls on fears of a swine flu pandemic.

"The possibility of a swine flu pandemic has seen a sharp reversal in the global oil price," Sebastian said.

Pump prices touched a seven-week high last week, and a range of other commodities has rose on tentative signs of improvement in the global economy. However, the potential for a drop in jet fuel demand was weighing on the global oil price, Sebastian said.

"Traders continue to weigh up concerns of how severe the swine flu is likely to be, and if so, the significant impact it is likely to have on global air travel," Sebastian said.

The latest weekly petrol price reported by the Australian Institute of Petroleum has showed the national average price for unleaded petrol rose 0.6 Australian cents (0.4 US cents) per liter to 118.9 Australian cents (83 US cents) in the past week.

"While the possibility of swine flu is dire, motorists are likely to benefit from an improvement in pump prices," Sebastian said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 28, 2009)