Petrol prices set to hit record levels

PETROL prices are set to hit record levels, it was claimed today, with £6 a gallon predicted for next month.

The AA has warned unleaded fuel could soon cost £1.23 a litre or more.

The organisation urged Chancellor Alistair Darling to delay the introduction of a planned 3p increase in petrol duty due to come in on April 1.

The 3p hike would send average UK prices to £5.59 a gallon (£1.23p a litre).

Experts predict the £6 mark will be reached soon after.

AA president Edmund King said: “The UK is barely out of recession, yet petrol threaten to rise to record prices seen during the boom of 2008 – shortly before the collapse into recession

“If families, drivers on fixed incomes and those on low pay were unable to cope with record prices then, they are even less likely now.”

AA research found an average family with two cars is paying £52 a month more to fill up now than a year ago.

Even if the 3p increase is withdrawn, the average price paid by UK drivers could soon hit 120p a litre – £5.41 a gallon – according to the organisation.

The AA said the fuel price increases were caused by the rise in the price of wholesale gasoline since the end of January.

Lindsay Hoyle, the senior Labour MP on the Commons business select committee, said: “Yes, crude oil has gone up this year, but nothing like the rise in petrol prices.

“Motorists are being legally mugged at the forecourt by the petrol companies.”