NRMA president Alan Evans said last week that Australia was likely to see petrol prices slip below the $1 mark by the middle of this week.

He was proved right in Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane, but Canberra's bowsers hovered around $1.07 yesterday, ''probably higher than it should be'', Mr Evans said.

The US Government announced more bail-outs this week, which shored up confidence in the economy and massaged crude oil back to $US51 a barrel.

Yet Mr Evans said Canberrans should see regular unleaded fall below $1 next week.

Around the country, prices have dropped from the heights of several months ago, pushed down by a global lull in oil demand brought on by the financial crisis.

Tuggeranong resident Kelly Hare said her weekly petrol bill had gone from $95 to $65 in the past few weeks.

''I'll be very excited [if it falls to below $1], considering I fill up once a week,'' she said.

''I'm hoping it's $1 before Christmas.''

But while unleaded has fallen considerably, diesel drivers are still dealing with prices about 40c higher.

Mr Evans, himself a diesel driver, described the gap as ''absolutely outrageous''.

''There is no way the gap should be that wide between petrol and diesel,'' he said.

''[Diesel prices] should never be more than 10c higher than unleaded petrol prices.''

He said diesel-powered cars were seen by the petroleum giants as a niche market, but predicted a resurgent interest in diesel would shrink the gap.

Alan Criddle, a Melbourne-based diesel driver, was pessimistic about his chances, and said he would be looking at buying a non-diesel in the future.

Braddon car dealer Mick Rimanic said the global financial crisis had sent the industry into the doldrums, but low petrol prices were helping sell big cars.

''Six cylinders were nowhere, and in the last month they've started to pick up again,'' he said.

''People are still very concerned that petrol prices are going to go through the roof again, but big cars are starting to move again.''

Canberra's bowser prices were expected to rise slightly today in conjunction with payday, but are likely to fall early next week.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will meet this weekend, and Mr Evans said it was likely it would cut production by about one million to 112 million barrels. He said it was unlikely to halt the falling prices, however, and remained confident prices would stay low through the first quarter of next year.