Businesses have been urged to lock down their energy prices in response to increasing oil prices.

Andrew Diplock at Welsh energy consultancy UES issued this advice: “The wave of serious unrest in the Middle East and North Africa – a major oil producing region – is driving up the price of crude oil on the world markets and that’s now forcing up electricity and gas prices too.

“As a result, we’re strongly advising our clients to lock down their energy prices as quickly as possible.”

UES believe that if businesses don’t act now, they could face a huge increase in costs. They cite the example of one South Wales car parts manufacturer whose total price for a 12 month contract increased by more than £50,000 in just five working days between February 16 and 22.