Oil spiralled to more than $120 a barrel last night – prompting fears petrol prices will increase before they’ve managed to drop. Petrol firms have been accused of profiteering because while oil prices fell over the last few months forecourt prices remained the same.
But now oil prices are soaring again which is likely to lead to even more inflated prices at the pumps. The cost of oil reached $130 at one point, before settling at $120.
Ray Holloway, director of the Petrol Retailers Association, said fuel prices are expected to rise in November as a result. He said: ‘Don’t panic yet. Often with a spike like this, the price dips back again within a day or two. It will be a few days before we know if there is going to be a knock-on effect at the pumps.’
He added that the spike in oil prices was down to three things: a pledge by the Saudis to cut oil production by half a million barrels a day, a surge of speculators buying into the oil market, and a weak dollar.