EU call for oil price cut
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• European Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio has added her voice to those calling for lower oil prices.
Last week the Spaniard called on the oil producing countries' organisation OPEC to increase production, which would cause the price of crude oil to fall from its current post-Gulf War high of $32 a barrel.
De Palacio, who is responsible for transport policy across the European Union, phoned OPEC officials and urged them to take action to end the "upward spiral" in fuel costs. She is the first EU commissioner to acknowledge the impact of high fuel costs on the road transport sector
OPEC is under pressure, particularly from North America, to address the price rises of the past six months which have resulted in soaring diesel costs across the world.
The International Road Transport Union says the rises are a "blow to European competitiveness" and welcomed de Palacio's intervention, calling it "courageous".
Last week Keith Greenhead, director of PHWs fuel management division, warned hauliers to expect even higher prices following the latest crude oil price rise. Oil experts say that every $1-per-barrel price rise results in a 1p/lit rise in the pump price of diesel