Gas prices have spiralled on financial markets in the wake of record prices for crude oil and refined petrol, pushing costs to industry up by even more than charges upon household consumers.

A new survey by the EEF, the manufacturers’ group, has found that 370 member companies have suffered an average increase in gas costs of 47 per cent over the past 12 months, weighted for the volume of gas used. Electricity costs have risen by an average of 34 per cent.

Small firms appear to have faced even steeper increases. Jonathan Elliott, who runs energyhelpline.com, an energy broker to smaller firms, said that the lowest gas prices that he could offer to clients, such as small retailers or public houses, had more than doubled over the past year.

Mr Elliott said that the best available gas prices had gone up from between 1.3p and 1.4p per kilowatt hour equivalent to between 2.8p and 2.9p. The lowest electricity prices for smaller business users had typically risen by three fifths, from 5p to 8p per kilowatt hour. He said that small users also often faced rigid deadlines to give notice to their existing suppliers.

The EEF called last night for the Government to conduct an urgent review of its climate change levy on energy use. The levy, which was matched by a cut in national insurance contributions, bears most heavily on manufacturers, which are often big users of power but employ relatively few people, compared with services.

Mark Swift, of the EEF, said that industry was not asking for special treatment because all groups in society were suffering from high oil prices, but he said that new emissions trading systems had made the climate change levy obsolete and unfair.

The EEF also wants ministers to look again at speculation in the gas market, which it claims has pushed prices up more than necessary, even though the dash for gas in power generation has made the UK gas market tight.

The IoD said that fuel duty should be cut until oil prices return to the levels that prevailed early this year. Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, is expected to promise only to continue the freeze on planned duty increases.

Graeme Leach, the IoD’s chief economist, said that business was suffering mainly from the speed of increased oil costs, which had made it impossible for many companies to pass them on.

Mr Leach said that if the Treasury cut duty now and maintained a freeze until the end of next year, business would have time to adjust to the possibility of a prolonged period of high oil prices.