How long will petrol prices stay this high?
The bad news from oil industry experts is that prices could continue rising, possibly passing £2 per litre for petrol, with diesel going even higher.
Dr Amrita Sen from Energy Aspects told the Commons Treasury Committee: “If you do it on the basis of crude oil, we are saying it could easily go up by $50 (£38) [a barrel], so let’s say it’s just over a 50 per cent increase.” Even taking into account the Government’s 5p per litre cut in fuel duty, that will still see it reaching about £2.30 a litre.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. There are many new models that claim to offer 60mpg or more. The most fuelefficient petrol cars on the market today are the Peugeot 108 and Citroen C1, returning a wallet-welcoming 58.9mpg in official tests.
If you don’t want to change your car, you could try to drive more economically. Many people are, with dealership Evans Halshaw saying searches on its website for fuel-saving driving tips have gone up by 157 per cent.