Saboteurs deal blow to motorists

FRESH rises in UK petrol prices are looming after attacks by Iraqi rebels on a crucial export pipeline to Turkey kept oil prices at their peaks.

Crude oil rose to more than $29 a barrel. Industry sources say average UK petrol prices of about 75.5p a litre are still lagging behind recent increases in the market. Pump prices rose to nearly 79p during the Iraq war.

Prices marched higher again today as market watchers said continued uncertainties in several markets had put a firm floor under the price. They warned that a fresh spike upwards remained possible, if not likely.

'It is all about perception,' said Sam Dale, business development manager in Asia for the Energy Intelligence Group. 'It's very, very volatile right now. Anything that is seen as not going according to plan is an excuse for more upside in the oil price.'

Brent crude for October delivery put on 14 cents to $28.80 a barrel.

The US blackouts pushed unleaded gasoline prices to a peak last week, though they eased slightly on Monday.

Iraq had been hoping, under a US-led investment plan, to produce 2m barrels of oil a day by the year-end - two-thirds of its level before the war. There were predictions that this would push oil prices back below $20.

But persistent bombings of oil pipelines in northern Iraq, and the theft of power cables in the south, have hindered exports and kept the crude price bubbling. Renewed violence in Nigeria, where oil workers have repeatedly threatened strike action, has increased the pressure.