Fuel is selling for an average of £1.10 a litre - nearly £5 a gallon - while oil companies Shell and BP last week reported profits of more than £7 billion in the first three months of the year.

Lorry drivers in particular are concerned the government is not doing enough to curb the damage being done to businesses. Mr Lowe who runs a one-man haulage business from Eastwood says the price increases are crippling his firm.

He said: "It's killing me. The price of fuel has gone up in the last month and a half by 12p.

"It's the amount of tax charged by the government.

"There needs to be no more increases on fuel and I would like to see a different tax for fuel. There needs to be a different band for hauliers.

"At the end of the day, if my prices go up then the company I'm delivering for has to put their prices up too. I bet you've seen prices on food go up. It's all part of the same vicious circle."

Alan Parkes, owner of CBC taxis in Kimberley, said: "It affects us tremendously. Our prices are fixed with the council - we have rates we stick to. We have to them to apply to increase our rates. In some respects it is too late."

Ian Ball has been running his haulage firm SMC Transport in Cossall and Ilkeston for eight years and says the current situation is the worse yet.

He said: "It is terrible. The government doesn't realise the impact it is having on small businesses. We are paying huge amounts of tax for the fuel we need.

"Why can't fuel be categorised for our industry like red diesel is for farmers?

"What is infuriating is the huge profits Shell and BP are making."

Competition from European companies who don't pay the same high taxes is also putting pressure on the firm and Mr Ball fears for the future of his company.

Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Chamber chief executive George Cowcher said: "The price of oil per barrel is now astronomically high with records tumbling on a near daily basis.

"The Energy Minister has admitted that soaring oil prices are hitting businesses and yet his Government appears to be doing nothing to limit the damage.

"Mr Wicks must urge the Chancellor to scrap the next 2p hike in fuel duty planned for October.

"Another unnecessary fuel duty rise will simply add to the misery of vehicle dependant businesses, who are already fighting an upward battle to avoid passing extra costs onto customers."

The price of crude oil could soar to $200 a barrel in as little as six months, as supply continues to struggle to meet demand, a report has warned.

The warning comes from Goldman Sachs energy strategist Argun Murti, who says surging demand is increasingly likely to create a "super-spike" past $200 in six months to two years' time, he said.

Oil prices have now risen 25 per cent in the last four months and by 400 per cent from 2001. Mr Murti correctly predicted three years ago - when oil was about $55 a barrel - that it would pass $100, which it reached for the first time in January of this year.

Soaring global demand for oil is being led by China's continuing economic boom and, to a lesser extent, by India's rapid economic expansion