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Fuel prices set to reach record levels
The average price of petrol could rise to £1.20 a litre in the coming weeks, as a result of increases in the wholesale price of fuel, the Automobile Association (AA) has warned.
The organisation has urged Chancellor Alistair Darling to postpone the planned 3 pence rise in petrol duty which is scheduled to come into effect on 1 April.
The average cost of unleaded fuel is currently around £1.16 a litre, and according to the AA families are now spending an additional £52 on petrol every month, compared with a year ago.
Edmund King, AA president, said, ' The UK is barely out of recession, yet petrol prices threaten to rise to record prices seen during the boom of 2008 – shortly before the collapse into recession'.
Mr King warned that families, drivers on fixed incomes and those on low pay will find it difficult to cope with the increase in prices.
Despite the rise in wholesale prices, the cost of crude oil is currently around $80 a barrel, compared with $147 in 2008, prompting questions as to why the cost of petrol has risen so significantly in recent months.