§ Mr. Hardyasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the average price of crude oil imported into this country at the latest available date and three years earlier; and what is his estimate of the price of imported oil in three years' time.
§ Mr. EmeryFollowing is the information:
- Average value of imported crude petroleum per ton c.i.f.
- October 1972 £8.99—January-October 1972 £8.81.
- October 1969 £6.80—January-October 1969 £7.15.
It must be realised that these average c.i.f. values are influenced by the sources of supply, by transport costs and other factors.
The future price of imported crude oil will depend on very many factors and I will not speculate on what the figure might be three years from now.