The prospect of petrol reaching £1 a litre returned today after crude oil prices broke through $80 a barrel for the first time since the 1980s.

Leading oil analysts said that a cold snap over the coming winter months, either in the UK or the United States, could add "a couple of pence" to forecourt prices for British motorists, while the Government is scheduled to increase petrol duty by 2p a litre next month.

The average price of a litre of unleaded petrol reached 95.2p yesterday, compared with 92.1p a year ago.

UK petrol prices surpassed £1 a litre most recently in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina restricted supplies of fuel to Britain.

Orrin Middleton, of Barclays Capital, said: "We, the end consumer, pay international prices. At the end of the day, the petrol retailers will pass on the market prices they have to pay.

"If we get a cold winter and we see some weakness of sterling against the dollar, it is possible fuel could return to those levels."

Crude oil surged to record highs yesterday, pushing through the psychologically important $80-a-barrel mark on supply concerns before closing at $79.91.

This week oil pipelines in Mexico, the fifth-largest producer, were attacked, adding to supply worries.

The oil price is coasting at its present high despite Opec's recent move to increase production by a modest 500,000 barrels a day.

Opec will next meet on December 5 in Abu Dhabi.

Today light sweet crude to be delivered next month fell slightly, trading 26 cents lower at $79.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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