Fuel prices set to rocket

Fuel prices set to rocket The cost of motoring is set to rocket this year with the price of fuel at the pumps reaching an all-time high this summer. The increase follows record highs in crude oil prices on both sides of the Atlantic, seeing costs of oil double over the past year. The average price of petrol across Britain reached 85.32p per litre at the start of April, the same level as the run up to the fuel protests in September 2000. Ray Holloway, director of the Petrol Retailers Association, said the price would rise further. “Petrol and diesel prices will rise somewhere between 1 and 4p per litre between May and September”. “In the first quarter of 2004 the average price of crude oil was $27-$28 per barrel.” “In 2005 the average price was $48-$49 per barrel. There is no shortage for crude oil but world demand for it has increased. The problem is we did not see the explosion in the growth in oil.” The price of Diesel finally broke through the £4 per gallon barrier at the start of April, increasing costs for hauliers and motorists throughout Britain. A third of new cars sold last year were diesel. In the past month the cost of unleaded petrol has risen by 3p a litre. In addition to these rises in fuel costs, the government could choose to increase excise duty on fuel by a further 2p in the autumn. “It is not good news. It is going to be a bleak time. Whoever is chancellor after the election will have to confront a difficult problem.”

Date - 30/04/2005