By IRNA,
London : British motorists were warned Monday that petrol prices could soar by a further 8% this year due to currency movements and world oil price increases.
The Retail Motor Industry Independent Petrol Retailers Association (RMI Petrol) forecast petrol prices could rise as high as 125.9 pence ($2) per litre by the beginning of 2011, breaking the previous record of 121.61p.
RMI Petrol, which represents around two-thirds of Britain’s 9,000 petrol forecourt sites, also predicted that the cost to motorists could rise by 3% by the time of August Bank Holiday weekend at the end of this month.
RMI Petrol chairman Brian Madderson said crude oil increases will “feed through the supply chain and could result in prices going up by as much as 4p a litre in the next three weeks.”
“We also need to remember that the coalition Government did not cancel Labour’s Budget commitment to raising fuel duty by 1p a litre from October 1 and a further 0.76p from January 1, with both having tax added,” Madderson said.
“All these trends will add to inflationary pressures in our market and across the economy, threatening higher interest rates in the medium term,” he warned.