Storm Harvey to put price of petrol up 4p

THE price of petrol is set to hit the highest level in almost three years because of Hurricane Harvey, a motoring group warned yesterday.

The RAC predicted forecourt prices could rise by up to 4p per litre because refineries on the US Gulf Coast have been shut down by the storm.

This would take the average price above £1.21 per litre, making petrol more expensive than diesel for the first time in over a year. It would be the highest price since December 2014.

The RAC’s Pete Williams said: ‘We expect this to be the case for some time to come, or at least until the US oil industry is able to get refineries back into operation.’

A litre of petrol cost an average of 117.29p on Thursday, with diesel at 118.4p.

A quarter of the refining capacity in the US is out of action, leaving a shortfall of more than 4million barrels a day. This has helped push up the wholesale price of unleaded by 5p in the last week.

Yesterday the AA said the wholesale price was likely to fall quickly – citing the case of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It said it would be watching fuel retailers ‘like a hawk’ to ensure they cut prices quickly when wholesale costs fall.