clipped from: www.guardian.co.uk Petrol prices were heading for new record levels last night after the price of oil broke through the $100-a-barrel barrier for the first time in New York trading.
Strong speculative buying of oil has been pushing prices higher over the past few weeks, despite concerns that a slowdown in the US will spill over into the rest of the global economy and reduce demand for energy.
"Oil could rise further from here," said Kris Voorspools, analyst at Fortis in Brussels. "It's simple supply and demand fundamentals.
"Demand is going up and I think there is a structural problem with the refining sector. There's higher demand for higher-quality products and refineries are simply not up to making those kinds of products."