Petrol prices are set to soar again
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Petrol prices could soar by 8% by the beginning of next year, it was predicted today.
And the cost of filling up at the pumps could rise by 3% by this August Bank Holiday weekend.
The warning to motorists came from the Retail Motor Industry Independent Petrol Retailers Association (RMI Petrol).
It put the blame for the expected rises on currency movements and world oil price increases.
RMI Petrol, which represents around two-thirds of Britain's 9,000 petrol forecourt sites, said petrol prices could rise as high as 125.9p per litre in the new year, smashing the current record high of 121.61p.
This increase would take into account the rise in VAT and the planned hike in fuel duty.
RMI Petrol chairman Brian Madderson said: "The rebound in crude oil pricing is disappointing but not entirely unexpected. It will further increase pressure on independent retailers who are fighting for survival, especially in rural areas, due to the double hit of falling volumes and tighter margins.
"This crude oil increase 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."
He went on: "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 VAT added.
"Then we have the coalition's emergency Budget proposal to increase VAT to 20% from January 4, so the outlook remains extremely difficult for motorists and retailers alike. As I forecast earlier this summer, we could be seeing new record pump prices within six months.
"All these trends will add to inflationary pressures in our market and across the economy, threatening higher interest rates in the medium term."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments