Oil prices 'to fuel petrol rise'
Petrol prices could rise
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Thursday, 13, Sep 2007 01:21
Motorists are being warned that petrol prices could rise after the cost of oil jumped to a record level.
The price of a barrel of US light, sweet crude soared beyond the key $80 (£39.4) mark yesterday, the first time it has done so since the 1980s.
Although the price closed slightly lower, it remained just short of the benchmark level in trading today.
The jump in the price of oil came despite oil producer cartel Opec pledging to boost output by 500,000 barrels a day, in a bid to calm fears about supplies.
Analysts say that current market turmoil and rising demand for oil from countries such as China have partly prompted the concerns, while new data shows that US stockpiles have fallen to their lowest level in eight months.
The emergence of Hurricane Humberto has also led to fears that oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico could be disrupted, with the area representing a quarter of total US output.
Drivers are now being warned that the increases in the price of oil could be passed on to them at the petrol forecourt, with some commentators predicting that the price of petrol could soon reach a £1 a litre.
AA spokesman Luke Bosdet said: "Traditionally we'd expect to see the cost of petrol coming down this time of year, as we are coming out of the motoring season.
"But if prices move up dramatically, it will be an unpleasant surprise at a time when fuel consumption is greater as drivers turn on their heaters and lights and use their windscreen wipers more," he added, in comments reported by the Press Association.