PETROL prices in Dorset are expected to rocket to more than a £1 a litre in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and continued unrest in the Middle East.

The storm wrought havoc on the southern states of the United States, devastating the oil refining industry in the Gulf of Mexico and sparking yet another surge in oil prices.

On Thursday petrol price watchdog Catalist revealed that the average cost of a litre of unleaded in the UK had risen to 92.2p and 95.82p for diesel.

But just days later petrol prices in the Bournemouth/Poole area had reached as high as 97.9p for a litre of unleaded, with experts forecasting it would go up again this week.

Spokesman for the AA Motoring Trust Andrew Howard admitted it was just a matter of time before petrol prices in the UK surged to £1 a litre for the first time.

"No one knows exactly what the impact of the storm will be, but all the indications from the last ten days are that the price is going to leap and that it's going to be a world wide leap," he said.

But a spokesman for ASDA, which was selling a litre of unleaded petrol for 87.9p at its Canford Heath store on Saturday, said: "We're always first to lower prices and only increase it as a last resort."

The conurbation at first resisted significant price rises in August, which settled between 87p and 89p a litre, despite fears of imminent terror attacks in Saudi Arabia, the world's largest producer of crude.

Experts explained that the conurbation was initially able to contain the price because of the density of competing petrol stations, and the close proximity of the Esso oil refinery at Fawley, near Southampton, which helped keep transport costs down.

Hurricane Katrina is thought to have swept away up to 58 oil platforms and drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, interrupting supplies amid soaring worldwide demand, which sent the cost of crude oil to an all-time high of more than $70 a barrel.

First published: September 5