Oil hits $60 a barrel

MOTORISTS can expect further rises in the cost of petrol in coming weeks after the price of crude oil broke through $60 a barrel last night.

Crude briefly touched the $60 mark on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its highest level since oil futures trading began on the market since 1983. It later eased back to close at $59.42.

Yesterday, the AA Motoring Trust warned prices had already hit a new high. It said pump prices for unleaded had soared to a record 86.21p a litre, passing the previous record of 86.05p a litre on 17 April this year.

The average cost of diesel had also reached a new high of 90.34p per litre, beating the previous record of 90.17p set on 11 April.

The trust said that with unleaded petrol costing on average 79.6p a litre in January, individual private motorists were now paying £94.69 per month on car fuel compared to £87.43 at the beginning of the year.

It added that UK motorists were now collectively spending an extra £4.83m each day on petrol compared with January.

The rise in crude prices has sparked concerns for the global economy. Oil at $60 equates to a gain of about 38% since the start of the year. However, analysts were saying last night that sky-high prices have yet to seriously dent global demand. In fact, experts have warned the strength of the world economy could keep pressure on the price of crude.