UK drivers reeling as average petrol price tops £1 a litre

12 April 2012

The average price of petrol surged past the £1-a-litre barrier for the first time it was revealed.

As the cost of oil soared towards $100 a barrel, retailers warned that prices at the pumps will rise by a further 3p a litre before Christmas.

There were warnings of a growing mood of anger among hauliers, many of whom are pressing for a repeat of the fuel blockades of seven years ago.

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Price hike: The average price of petrol has surged past the £1-a-litre barrier for the first time

The AA said yesterday that the average petrol price in the UK was 100.08p per litre - which means a typical driver is £15.33 a month worse off than a year ago.

Diesel - which broke through the £1 barrier some time ago - is 103.32p per litre.

At the start of the year, petrol was 88.32p a litre, with diesel at 93.68p.

Union leaders expressed anger at the increasingly "crippling" fuel costs - which could put many hauliers out of business.

Businesses said the rising transport costs would mean higher prices were passed on to consumers and firms would go to the wall.

The Chancellor was last night urged to reverse a 2p a litre tax hike he placed on petrol in October - as well as scrapping a further 2p increase planned for the Spring.

Already, nearly 70p in every £1 spent at the pumps goes to the Treasury.

The Daily Mail has learned that ministers were so rattled about the prospect of petrol rising above £1 a litre when they raised taxes in October that oil company bosses received calls from Whitehall urging them to keep forecourt prices below the landmark level.

One insider said: "The oil companies got 'the call' telling them to hold the prices below £1. It was pure arrogance."

But despite these behind-thescenes manoeuvres, the £1 barrier was finally breached yesterday.

Motoring groups fear this could "open the floodgates" - with supermarkets in particular no longer likely to keep prices under a pound.

Andrew Howard of the AA said: "More retailers are accepting that they have to break through the psychological £1-per-litre barrier.

"This, coupled with steadily rising prices on the world oil markets, mean that relief for the British motorist is unlikely."

Ray Holloway, of the Petrol Retailers' Association, added: "There will be continuing rising prices until Christmas.

"We could see another 2p to 3p per litre on the price.

"It's a dreadful Christmas present. That's why we have asked the Government to reverse the recent 2p tax hike and postpone the next one.

"The sad thing is that Gordon Brown doesn't recognise the volatility in the oil market.

"Only he has the opportunity to do something about it by cutting the tax."

He added: "It's not just motorists who will be hit. Some 96 per cent of all retail goods are moved by road at some stage before they reach consumers.

"Oil is used in plastics - from carrier bags to the surround on TV screens.

"It's used in chemicals for crops and the bags that carry fertiliser. Everyone is affected."

Mr Holloway said that the most likely time for a fuel protest would be over Christmas, when most hauliers were off the road anyway.

One of the original fuel protesters echoed this warning, saying there was a "nine out of ten" chance of renewed action.

Farmer Brynle Williams, who led the blockade of the Shell oil refinery in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, in September 2000, said there was a "growing mood" for more protests.

"There's a nine out of ten chance of a protest before the Spring if these fuel prices continue to rise and the Government persists with its plan to put another 2p on fuel duty," he said.

"We are fast approaching the point where one spark could kick it off."

Breakdown services said yesterday that the number of drivers putting the wrong fuel in their cars has doubled in a decade.

The AA said that 150,000 motorists a year make this error, and urged anyone who realised they had made a mistake not to turn on the engine - which significantly increases the cost of putting it right.

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