Drivers Paying Over 90p a Litre for Petrol

MOTORISTS were paying an average of more than 90p for a litre of unleaded petrol today after oil prices continued to hit new highs.

Figures from price monitoring organisation Catalist show the average cost of unleaded petrol now stands at 90.2p a litre in the UK and almost 94p for diesel.

This means a typical British family owning two cars is paying pounds 23.32 more a month for petrol compared with the start of the year, the AA Motoring Trust said.

But it believed the additional financial burden on Britons had not yet forced their cars off the road, with most people making cutbacks in other areas.

Ruth Bridger, of the AA Motoring Trust, said: “There seems to be no sign of a slowdown in people using their cars for business and pleasure.”

After closing at a record $63.94 yesterday, the cost of a barrel of US light crude rose even higher to touch $64.27 in overnight trading.

The latest surge comes as fears of instability in the Middle East grow and supply is disrupted by unplanned shutdowns of refineries in the United States.

Cathy Arnfield, an energy analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston, said demand for oil was not responding to the high prices and this was particularly visible in the US where there were record sales of sports utility vehicles last month.

“Oil prices will stay high for the rest of this year and likely into next,” she said.

Adjusted for inflation, the highest price crude has traded at is $94.77 in April 1980.

Prices are 43percent higher than a year ago and have risen in the wake of the death of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, which increased nervousness about potential instability and whether supplies from the world’s biggest producer of oil could be guaranteed.