Motorists face soaring fuel prices following Opec deal

THE PRICE of petrol is expected to jump by 9p a litre after Opec president Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada announced a deal to cut oil production.

Oil prices are set to soar over the next few weeks.

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), has struck a deal which will see crude oil production from its 14 member states cut by 1.2 million barrels a day to 32.5 million barrels.

As a result UK drivers face a massive hike in the cost of petrol and diesel, which could add up to £3 to the cost of filling the tank.

Oil prices had been sitting at under $30 a barrel at the turn of the year, but have risen steadily since then due, in part, to the plummeting value of the pound against the dollar.

Chancellor Philip Hammond has been heavily criticised by motor industry groups for failing to drop fuel duty rather than freezing prices in last week’s Autumn Statement, a move which would have went some way to neutralising the effects of the oil production cut.

The new Opec deal was agreed as an attempt to alleviate concerns from member states about the low price of oil. Designed to boost revenues, the production cut is the first of its kind in nearly a decade.

Experts say that the production cut will see the price of fuel inflate rapidly in the lead up to Christmas, and that families can expect to be paying as much as 123p a litre in the next few weeks.

Fuel prices are currently at 114p a litre for unleaded and 116p for diesel.