Oil prices continue to rise

Oil prices continued to rise today, edging even closer to the record high set in the lead-up to the last Gulf War.

A barrel of crude now costs $40.92 US dollars (€34.54) in New York and $37.40 (£21.11) on London’s International Petroleum Exchange.

Motorists are paying more than 90c a litre on the forecourts following the 13-year-high crude oil prices.

Fears that oil installations in the Middle East have become terrorist targets, high demand in America and production cuts by oil cartel Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are said to have driven up the cost.

The recent upsurge in violence in Iraq spread to oil facilities, increasing fears of a potential disruption to energy supplies from the region.

OPEC is concerned that the soaring prices could slow global growth, but believes current 13-year highs are largely out of its control.

The group’s president Purnomo Yusgiantoro said: “OPEC is very concerned with the current high oil prices, and we’ll try to avoid the same global recession (which) happened in 1973.”

In the fallout of the 1973 Yom Kippur War defeat of Arab forces against Israel, OPEC raised oil prices, triggering economic problems for oil-importing nations.

OPEC members will meet in Amsterdam next week to discuss a proposal from Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer, to hike output by 1.5 million barrels per day from the current ceiling of 23.5 million.

Industry bosses, hauliers, local authorities, security services and Government officials were reported to be meeting at the Department of Trade and Industry tomorrow to plan for potential petrol shortages caused by possible price protests.

But the DTI denied that the emergency talks, said to be hosted by Energy minister Stephen Timms, were taking place.

“There’s no such meeting taking place tomorrow,” a spokeswoman said.

She added: ““What we do have taking place tomorrow is a regular contingency planning exercise that has been planned for months. It won’t involve ministers.”

She added: “It’s not being done in response to any stories about fuel prices.”

One of the ringleaders of the last fuel revolt in 2000, North Wales farmer Brynle Williams, now a Welsh Assembly member, has warned that new protests against rising petrol prices are a “distinct possibility”.