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| Motorists hit by fuel duty rise | Motorists hit by fuel duty rise |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| The price of petrol and diesel has edged closer to a record high at the pumps following a one-penny rise in fuel duty which came in at midnight. | |
| The motoring body the AA is predicting petrol could hit a record average of 120p a litre in the next few days. | The motoring body the AA is predicting petrol could hit a record average of 120p a litre in the next few days. |
| The duty rise comes on top of steady a rise in the wholesale price of fuel, made worse by a weaker pound which makes imported fuel more expensive. | The duty rise comes on top of steady a rise in the wholesale price of fuel, made worse by a weaker pound which makes imported fuel more expensive. |
| It is the first of a three-stage fuel duty increase announced in the Budget. | It is the first of a three-stage fuel duty increase announced in the Budget. |
| Fuel duty was meant to rise by 3p a litre on 1 April, but Chancellor Alistair Darling decided to phase in the rise instead. There will be further 1p rises in October and January. | Fuel duty was meant to rise by 3p a litre on 1 April, but Chancellor Alistair Darling decided to phase in the rise instead. There will be further 1p rises in October and January. |
| The average price of unleaded petrol is currently 117.93p a litre. Diesel is on average 118.51p, according to figures from industry experts Catalist. | |
| The penny rise will see petrol move closer to the record average high of 119.7p set in July 2008. Diesel peaked then at 133.25p. | |
| As well as the rise in fuel duty, a subsidy on biofuel production has also been scrapped. As all conventional fuel has biofuel in it, this is expected to inflate the cost by an additional 0.7p a litre, industry experts say. | |
| Election impact | |
| "Where we go from here is difficult to say," the AA's Andrew Howard told the BBC. | "Where we go from here is difficult to say," the AA's Andrew Howard told the BBC. |
| "It depends on how the pound reacts to the general election result and the impact of any tax changes that follow the election." | "It depends on how the pound reacts to the general election result and the impact of any tax changes that follow the election." |
| A year ago, fuel at the pumps was about 30p a litre cheaper. But it has risen steadily since then. | A year ago, fuel at the pumps was about 30p a litre cheaper. But it has risen steadily since then. |
| "The things that have really put the cost of petrol up more recently has been the fact that our currency has been weaker against the dollar, and that's actually had a bigger impact than the duty itself," Brendan McLaughlin from price comparison site petrolprices.com said. | "The things that have really put the cost of petrol up more recently has been the fact that our currency has been weaker against the dollar, and that's actually had a bigger impact than the duty itself," Brendan McLaughlin from price comparison site petrolprices.com said. |
| "In 2000, the fuel tax was 73.5%. And now, it's running at about 60%. So tax on fuel, as a percentage, is actually lower at the moment." | "In 2000, the fuel tax was 73.5%. And now, it's running at about 60%. So tax on fuel, as a percentage, is actually lower at the moment." |