Fuel prices at Pease Pottage services have risen above £2 p/l, but AA chief says speculation over rises gives some retailers an excuse to push up prices.
The price of fuel at a BP petrol station in Sussex rose above £2 per litre yesterday, fuelling fears that rising prices could continue to rise by as much as 20p p/l over the coming weeks.
The rise of fuel prices is becoming "untenable" and forcing those on low incomes to get rid of their cars, the president of the AA has said, demanding more action.
Edmund King said the AA has called on the government to cut fuel duty by 10p a litre immediately and introduce a fuel stabiliser to help counter the "crippling" effect of record petrol and diesel prices.
According to AA research, 2% of those on low incomes are actually having to get rid of their car, while 27% are cutting back on food shopping because they live in rural areas or they work night shifts, and there's really no alternative but to use their cars to get about.
The government cut fuel duty by 5p a litre in March. But Mr King said ministers must go further and called for more "fuel price transparency".
He told Sky News:
"We have written to the Treasury today (June 9). In Northern Ireland they have a fuel price checker, on average their prices are 6p a litre cheaper on petrol and diesel.
"So what we've said to the Treasury is what they could do is cut duty by 10p a litre today and then introduce a fuel price stabiliser - when the price goes up they can cut duty, but when the price goes down they can raise duty.
"That, coupled with better fuel price transparency to hold the retailers to account, would produce a much fairer system across the UK and would help to bring prices down.
"In the weeks after the chancellor cut it, some of them did not pass on the full 5p cut, and that's why we need this transparency, so that the government can put pressure on the retailers to give a fair price at the pumps."
And he criticised speculation of price hikes.
"Speculation throughout saying 'we are going to have a £2 a litre price at the pumps' gives an excuse for some unscrupulous retailers to push the prices up," he said.
"What we are actually seeing at the moment is the wholesale price has reduced, today and yesterday, so there is no reason in the next couple of weeks, at the moment, for the prices going up.
"Sometimes, speculators have their own interest in actually talking the prices up and then retailers can get away with it.
"We do need a bit more sense of calm, we need the government to intervene, we need duty to be cut and we need those cuts to be passed on because it is crippling the economy and those on low incomes."
Paul Kelso of Sky News says the Treasury has received a windfall thanks to high pump prices:
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