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Speculators push up fuel prices
20 November 2009
Oil tankers anchored off the coast off Devon are helping contribute to the soaring cost of petrol and diesel in the UK, according to reports.
Prices are expected to have risen 26 per cent year on year by Christmas, and tankers are cashing in on the ever-rising prices by parking off the coast and waiting for prices to rise further.
For more than two months, several oil tankers have waited off the coast of Brixham in Lyme Bay. The equivalent of around 340 million litres of fuel remains on the ships, which would be enough to fill up around seven million cars.
AA president Edmund King told the Daily Mail: “Traders and speculators seem to be storing up oil until the price rises. Drivers can expect more hikes in the pipeline. Motorists are paying the price of this at the pumps.”
The first tanker arrived on 24 September and there are five there in total. Since arriving, the value of the oil on board has risen from £313m to £378m, more than £1m a day and a 21 per cent profit.
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