WITH petrol prices hitting their highest level this year, motorists in Worcestershire continue to get a raw deal compared with the rest of the country.

The AA says the average price at the pumps for a litre of unleaded is 107.1p and £108.4p for diesel.

That means a full tank of petrol costs about £1.10 more than it did a fortnight ago and the trend continues upwards.

Yet last night the average forecourt price for anywhere within a 10-mile radius of Worcester was more than a penny a litre more expensive than the rest of the country.

One of the problems faced by Worcester, in particular, is a lack of competition. Areas that have three or four of the major supermarkets tend to enjoy lower petrol prices.

For instance, when Asda cut the price of both unleaded and diesel to under £1 a litre a few months ago other supermarkets followed their lead – but only in areas where there was an Asda store.

The price cut certainly never made its way to Worcester.

The yo-yo nature of prices at the pumps – and let us not forget that the fuel protests that crippled the country in 2000 came at a time when prices were about 77p a litre – has much to do with stock market traders shifting funds from currencies to commodities.

Nevertheless, it is obvious that market forces are not the only driving force behind recent price rises.

There is still greed among suppliers and retailers. Noone can have failed to notice how prices rise faster than they come down.