A warning over steeply rising pump prices has come from PRA chairman Brian Madderson, as the Platts UK wholesale costs for petrol and diesel climb by nearly 4ppl in less than four weeks, 

With the Government’s ’Road Fuel Transport Obligation’ (RTFO) increasing the bio-fuel element to 7.25% across both grades from April 15, retailers and motorists will be faced with yet another increase by mid-month, he predicts.

"President Trump’s promise that US missiles ’will be coming’ to Syria caused the benchmark Brent Crude price to climb sharply above three-year highs to almost $73/barrel amid a volley of threats between the US and Russia and an attempted Houthi air strike from Yemen targeting oil titan Saudi Arabia," said Madderson.

"The global oil price rocketed by almost $2 in the space of an hour after the oil-rich kingdom confirmed that it intercepted two Houthi rebel missiles above the capital Riyadh which suggest that the country’s major oil facilities could be a target.

"The Houthi attacks on the world’s largest oil producer spurred global oil markets up almost 9pc this week alone to the highest prices seen since December 2014."