Motorists are bracing for record petrol costs after the AA said Tuesday that prices could hit £1.20 a litre within the next few weeks.
The motoring organisation blamed increasing oil prices for the hike, but the current cost of 80 US dollars per barrel is considerably lower than the 147 dollars a barrel reached in 2008, the last time forecourt prices hit the £1.20 mark.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling is set to introduce a further three pence rise in petrol duty on April 1, a move opposed by the AA.
"The UK is barely out of recession, yet petrol prices threaten to rise to record prices seen during the boom of 2008 -- shortly before the collapse into recession," AA president Edmund King warned.
"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," he added.
Analysts claim that the price, which currently stands at £1.15 a litre, is being inflated by increasing refinery costs and the pound's slide against the dollar, the currency of oil pricing.
Copyright 2010 AFP European Edition
