By IRNA,
London : Petrol prices in the UK is expected to continue to hit new records and reach Pnds 1.50 (Dlrs 3) a liter by the late summer, according to a motoring campaign group.
Petrolprices.com said after crude prices had hit almost $114 a barrel for US light crude, it had revised its prediction and that petrol would hit Pnds 1.50 in September and not by the end of the year.
“If these conditions continue and the government doesn’t work harder to stem the rising prices, then we’re likely to hit Pnds 1.50 a liter by September,” said head of the website, Brendan McLoughlin.
“That would be a disaster for the country, so motorists need to voice their concerns and make sure action is taken,” he said.
The cost of unleaded petrol currently averages around Pnds 1.08 per liter after breaking the Pnds 1 barrier for the first time last October. Prices have increased by nearly 30 per cent since 2005 and by more than two-third since rate were 68 pence back in 2001.
Petrolprice, which advises motorists where to buy the cheapest fuel in their area, also called on the British government to urge Opec to increase production so that prices fall.
But analysts blame rising prices on the market being driven by traders buying oil as a commodity like gold in order to protect their investments against the weakening dollar.
In the last 3 years gold has roughly tripled in value.