Donegal motorists may have to fork out over €2 a litre of petrol as economic sanctions are placed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
The price of a litre of petrol across the county now costs an average of 176c per litre with diesel at around 166c a litre.
A barrel of oil has jumped towards $100 a barrel on the international market with fears that could jump to $110 soon.
If that happens the cost will be passed on to the consumer meaning motorists could soon pay up to €2 a litre.
Some garages here have already increased the cost of a litre of petrol by 4c in recent days.
Maxol chief executive Brian Donaldson told the Irish Times that the demand for fuel is already growing, at a time of “restrictions on supply” due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Advancing prices are “reflecting concerns” around the deepening crisis in Ukraine. And they are likely to exert further price “pressure” on service stations and motorists, said Mr Donaldson.
“All we can say is it looks like there will be further pressure on prices. That’s not good news for anybody,” he said. The pressure on prices comes at a time when inflation is already running high, he added.
Motorists are “less likely to fill up their tanks” at the moment, due to high prices, with customers buying less and “probably making less journeys”, said Mr Donaldson.
