CHANCELLOR FACES PRESSURE TO CUT FUEL DUTY AS OIL PRICES RISE

Oil prices have risen further, according to a broadcast news report, adding to pressure on Chancellor John Healey to help households in this month's Budget. The report said the rise had continued despite a ceasefire covering energy infrastructure in Ukraine, announced by President Trump. A separate newspaper report said Healey faces growing calls to cut Fuel Duty in the Budget. It said the AA, a motoring organisation, has joined calls for the levy to be reduced. AA President Edmund King said it was time for the Chancellor to act on rising pump prices, according to that report.

The broadcast report said fighting had not ended in either Ukraine or the Middle East, and described this as continuing to squeeze global energy supplies. It said that squeeze had kept prices elevated despite the ceasefire Trump had announced. The newspaper report said the government has set out plans to raise Fuel Duty in the New Year. It said King's comments came amid those plans, framing the AA's intervention as a response to the planned increase on top of already higher pump prices. Both reports linked the pressure on the Chancellor to wider uncertainty over global oil supplies.

The Budget is due later this month, according to the reports, with the Chancellor facing decisions on fuel taxation alongside other measures affecting household finances. Neither report said whether Healey had confirmed any decision on Fuel Duty ahead of the statement. The reports said the outcome would affect pump prices for motorists across the country. Both accounts tied the pressure on the government to the continued conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, which they said showed no sign of ending.