Car petrol prices approach all-time peak

Car fuel costs nearly 10 per cent more than at the beginning of the year, a motorists association has claimed.Car club ÖAMTC announced today (Thurs) that one litre of car petrol cost up to 9.5 per cent more at the moment than it did in early January. The organisation pointed out that the recently introduced mineral oil tax increase was not considered in its evaluation.”The average price for one litre of diesel fuel rose by 11.6 per cent within the past two months, while regular petrol is eight per cent more expensive than at the beginning of 2011,” a spokesman for ÖAMTC said.The car club official pointed out that historic highs from 2008 may soon be surpassed, if rates continue to develop in this way.The highest diesel petrol price ever registered in Austria was recorded in August 2008 at 1.45 Euros. One litre currently costs around 1.34 Euros. The top price for regular fuel dates back to July 2008 (1.36 Euros). One litre of the product cost around 1.35 Euros in Austria yesterday.ÖAMTC and Arbö, another Austrian drivers’ association, appealed to political leaders in Austria and Europe to introduce stricter rules against exaggerated price speculations.Meanwhile, Statistik Austria said that the year on year inflation jumped by 2.4 per cent in January. The state owned agency said that this was the most significant increase in around two and a half years.The average price of car fuel soared by 18 per cent from January 2010 to the same month of this year, while heating oil was 21 per cent more expensive. Increasing foodstuff prices also kept the inflation rate relatively high, the authority added.