LONDON (Bloomberg) — Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said he will delay for six months the Treasury's annual increase in UK fuel duty after crude oil rose to a record.

The duty, which was due to rise two pence a litre from 50.35 pence ($3.83 a gallon) for gasoline, will remain unchanged until April 1. The levy was due to increase in October.

Planned increases in road fuel gases, biofuel duty rates and rebated oils rates will also be postponed.

"The global credit crunch and sharp rises in world oil prices have pushed up prices at the pump," Darling said in a statement released by the Treasury in London. "Today's decision will help motorists and businesses get through what is a difficult time for everyone."

Crude oil prices have more than doubled in the past year, touching a record over $147 a barrel last week. Slowing economic growth and rising costs for fuel, food and taxes have eaten away at the popularity of Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government, turning voters toward the Conservative opposition.

"While the announcement might help to ease some of the political pressure on the chancellor, the economic implications are minimal," Jonathan Loynes, chief European economist at Capital Economics Ltd. "Inflation is still heading much higher, and the economy is set to slow much further, with very damaging effects on the public finances."

The decision will cost the Treasury 500 million pounds, which will be offset by higher revenues from North Sea oil production, Loynes said. He estimated it will shave 0.1 percent off the inflation rate, which touched a record 3.8 percent last month. Fuel prices are contributing 0.9 percent to inflation.

"The chancellor is now so scared of appearing indecisive that he has been panicked into making a snap decision," said Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat's spokesman on Treasury affairs in Parliament. "It is utter madness to make an early decision when no one knows either what the price of oil will be or what state the public finances will be."

Unleaded gasoline cost U.K. drivers £1.18 per litre, or about $8.74 a gallon, according to data from Centrica Plc's Automobile Association for May 31. That's more than double the $4.12 a gallon in the US. In France, the cost was $8.70 a gallon, while in Germany it was $9.04 a gallon.

Conservatives planned to debate fuel duty increase in the House of Commons today and have suggested ways to reduce the tax when oil prices surge. The government's decision came on the same day that statistics showed the biggest jump in unemployment since 1992.