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Petrol prices have hit another record, according to industry analysts Experian Catalist.

The average price of a litre of unleaded petrol hit 140.20 pence.

Higher oil prices, driven by concerns about Iran, have been behind the rising price of fuel. Crude oil prices have risen 12% since January.

The chancellor confirmed this week that a 3p per litre fuel duty rise will take effect on 1 August, drawing criticism from the motoring industry.

The RAC said petrol prices had hit “another painful barrier”.

Petrol

“A figure of £1.40 a litre is a massive price for people to have to pay and there is no end in sight to rising prices,” said RAC technical director David Bizley.

“The way things are going the planned duty rise will see average petrol prices hit the £1.50-a-litre mark – forcing more and more people who need their cars off the road.”

The motor industry had called for the August rise in duty to be cancelled. It was the last rise under the annual fuel tax escalator that the chancellor scrapped in his March 2011 budget.

Under the escalator scheme, introduced in 2009, fuel duty had been scheduled to rise by 1p above inflation every year.

Chancellor George Osborne has pledged that fuel duty would in future not rise faster than inflation, unless oil prices were to fall below £45 a barrel.

Brent crude was trading at almost $124 (£78) a barrel on Friday.

The Bank of England expects inflation to ease off this year, but it has expressed concern about the potential impact of recent oil price rises.

“Any worsening of the underlying tensions in the Middle East could have significant implications for future oil prices,” the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee said in the minutes of its latest meeting to set interest rates.

It suggested that prices might keep rising.

“With an underlying upward trend in global demand, the risks might be more to the upside,” it added.

The average price of a litre of diesel is 146.72p. Super unleaded is now 147.40p per litre on average, Experian Catalist said.

bbc.co.uk