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Diesel rises loom

18th November 1999
Page 8
Page 8, 18th November 1999 — Diesel rises loom
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

• Gordon Brown might have abandoned the fuel duty escalator but diesel pump prices are still set to rise, says an oil industry analyst.

OPEC, the consortium of leading oil exporters, is increasing the market price of a barrel of Brent crude by limiting production to around 74 million barrels a day.

According to industry analyst Alex McLeish of Petroleum Economics, OPEC restrictions mean the price of a barrel of crude has risen from a January average of $11.07 (£6.84) to a three-year high of around $25 (£15.44) this month. If the current restrictions are kept tight at OPEC's next scheduled meeting in March next year, McLeish predicts that the price could go above $30 a barrel.

its a fairly simple relationship," he says. 'Increases on the crude market are fed into the pump price.'' Texaco spokesman Rachel Moore agrees that the cost of crude oil is a major factor in the Setting of pump prices but she could not say whether the company had any immediate plans to put prices up.