Fuel prices could rise by 60%
* Oil cartel issues stark warning * Scots strikes and Nigerian attacks raise prices * Demand outstripping supply...
The price of oil could rise by another 60%, according to the oil producing cartel OPEC.
A barrel of oil is currently at a record high of $120, but OPEC president Chakib Khelil has warned that the falling value of the US dollar will mean that investors will buy oil, driving the price up.
Khelil has not put a timescale on when oil prices will hit $200 a barrel, but has warned that prices will continue to rise towards that mark.
Why prices have risen
Oil prices have also risen because of a strike at the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland, which has disrupted North Sea production, and supply problems in Nigeria due to pipeline attacks.
In addition, the falling price of the dollar means that investors are looking elsewhere to make money, and the rising price of oil makes it an attractive commodity. As investors scoop up supplies, prices are driven up.
OPEC could curb these prices rises by increasing supplies, but so far it has been unwilling to raise quotas and provide more oil to do so.
How this will affect you
It usually takes six weeks for an oil price rise to be reflected in what motorists pay at the pumps. That means any price disruptions caused by the Grangemouth strike won't influence prices until June.
The average price of petrol is currently 109.8p a litre and diesel is 119.8p a litre.
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