A Dundee oil expert has warned that the recent drop in fuel prices is nothing more than a short reprieve.
Policy analyst Dr Philip Andrews-Speed said the cost of filling up would “almost certainly” rise again.
“They took a tumble a week or so ago but are creeping up now. The price of oil at the pump is linked to the price of raw oil and the price of raw oil is linked to supply and demand.
“The prices on the international market are now going up. There is not a long-term trend of petrol going down in price. The short-term fall is now in reverse.”
Prices fell last week, hitting lows of 129.9p per litre for unleaded and 133.9p for diesel.
Previously, city petrol stations were selling unleaded at around 136.9p and diesel at 144.9p, having leapt around 20% in less than a year.
Dr Andrews-Speed a former director of the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy at Dundee University said the price reduction was down to the “very unusual” antics of the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The IEA is an organisation that aims to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for its 28 member countries and beyond.
He said, “They have lots of oil stocks which they keep for emergency. They released some stocks not because there was an emergency but because they wanted to see a reduction in crude oil prices.
“If you release some of these stocks, these prices go down and that’s what happened a few weeks ago.
“I don’t know why they acted like this. It’s very controversial. Many people thought it was not the appropriate use.”