Petrol prices, interest rates set to soar over oil fears

CONSUMERS were hit with a double whammy yesterday as petrol prices rose sharply and the European Central Bank (ECB) warned that an interest rate hike was on the way.

With one expert predicting petrol prices of €5 a litre by 2010, several stations around the country were charging over €1.30 yesterday. Unleaded prices around the country are moving close to €1.20 a litre, with one Statoil station, in Mountmellick, Co Laois, already charging €1.39.

The ECB warned there was likely to be another 0.25% increase in base lending rates in June, pushing the key rate up to 2.75%. Since December, borrowers have been hit by two jumps of 0.25% as the ECB moved to curb inflation in eurozone economies.