AA to seek fuel duty rise delay

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The Automobile Association is to meet Treasury ministers to argue that next month's 2p rise in fuel duty should not go ahead.

Latest figures from the AA show the price of petrol at the pumps has fallen slightly in the last four weeks.

But it is set to rise again when a planned government increase in fuel duty takes effect on 1 April.

The increase was originally planned for last April but has been postponed twice because of soaring crude oil prices.

Between mid-February and mid-March the average UK price of petrol fell from 90.88p a litre to 90.56p, says the motoring organisation.

The average cost of diesel went down from 100.79p a litre to 99.77p.

Since the beginning of the year, average petrol prices have risen 3.41p.

Financial hardship

In the last four weeks, three of the four main supermarkets have raised their average petrol prices while most non-supermarket retailers have lowered theirs.

The cheapest petrol at present - at 90.2p a litre on average - is to be found in north-west England and in Yorkshire and Humberside.

Northern Ireland (91.6p) has the most expensive petrol.

AA president Edmund King said the government should bear in mind that "drivers face the threat of severe financial hardship from the credit crunch".

He also said many drivers could not understand why petrol cost over 90p a litre, when crude oil cost $45 dollars a barrel.

"in March 2007, the last time UK petrol cost 90p a litre, oil was priced at 68 dollars," he said.