Industry forecasters say that the price of a barrel of crude oil could reach the all time high of $100 by December this year.

The cost of freight has already gone up by as much as 10 per cent and insurance cost will also most likely jump during the period under review. This rising cost plus taxes and levies, estimated at about 42 percent would push up the ex-pump price of a gallon of petrol to at least ?70,000 per gallon.

Analysts and critics say the only way Government can cushion the effects of the price hikes on the world market is to reduce taxes on petroleum products, improve public transportation, intensify the search for alternative sources of energy and, considerably, reduce the consumption of petroleum products. At the time of going to bed, the spot price for brent crude on the world market was hovering around $50 to $60 per barrel.

Government used a yearly average price of ?44 per barrel in the calculations which led to the recent 50 per increase in the ex-pump price of petrol.

Many mass public organisations have called upon the Government to reduce the level of taxation on petroleum products in order to make life more bearable for the people. These organisations include the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the People's National Convention (PNC), the Socialist Forum of Ghana (SFG), the Committee for Joint Action (CJA), the National Reform Party and the National Democratic Congress.

So far, Government has refused to climb down and is insisting that the level of taxation needs to be maintained to raise revenue for national development.