British Gasoline Tops $7.60 a Gallon

Gasoline prices topped a record $2 a liter, or $7.68 a gallon, in Britain and motorists were warned to brace for further increases.

The latest increase — which also brought diesel above $2 a liter — reflected a 2-cents-a-liter tax hike, the second in 10 months.

While the price increase only affected some gas stations as of Tuesday, it was expected to become widespread in a few days as stations exhaust fuel supplies bought before the tax increase went into effect, London’s Daily Telegraph reported.

It could really begin to hurt by the weekend, a spokesman for the AA Motoring Trust told the newspaper. That is when even supermarkets will start to pass on the extra cost.

Rural gas stations will be hardest hit by the increase because they lack the customers and buying power to keep prices down, the Motoring Trust said.

An additional 7 cents a liter is expected to be added to the gasoline price nationwide between now and April 2009, the newspaper said.

The Friends of the Earth environmental group said the price increases could inspire people to leave their cars parked and use alternatives such as public transportation.