A SHARP five pence per litre rise over the last month in the wholesale price of fuel points to much more expensive petrol and diesel for hard-pressed business motorists within days.

Data from Experian Catalist show fuel costs at the pump have so far only risen by less than a penny a litre over the same period.

But the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), which represents filling station operators, says its badly squeezed members will have to pass on the full increase before too long.

According to PRA Chairman Brian Madderson, “Independent retailers have been soaking up this increase at the expense of already tight margins because they know how hard the motorist is squeezed. But the floodgates will have to open soon.”

The PRA and other motor industry trade bodies have been calling for the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to investigate the market for road fuels for about a year. The Association believes the recent big increase in wholesale prices at a time when supply conditions suggest they should be falling adds weight to its case.

The PRA is also now calling on the government to abandon altogether the 3.02p per litre duty increase that was originally due on 1 January but has been deferred to 1 September.