Chancellor wants fuel price fall

• Shell’s profits up $4billion
• Darling wants price cut
• Calls to scrap 2p fuel duty rise

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• Prime Minister wants fuel price cut

Chancellor Alistair Darling has called on oil companies to cut the price of fuel after Shell announced a 71% increase in its profits.

The price of crude oil has halved since the summer and the chancellor says that the price fall should be passed on to motorists.

Speaking on GMTV this morning, the Chancellor said: 'People are entitled to see the benefit of that falling price reflected in what they actually pay when they fill up the car.'

Shell's profits for the third quarter of 2008 increased to $10.6 billion, up from $6.6 for the same period last year. Shell’s results follow BP's announcement of a 148% jump in its profits earlier this week.

The Chancellor's comments echo Prime Minister Gordon Brown's recent call for retailers to cut fuel prices.

However, Darling is under pressure himself to scrap the 2p-a-litre increase in fuel duty planned for March 2009.