According to new government figures, average petrol prices increased 0.91p a litre in a week from 135.19p last week to 136.1p on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the price of diesel jumped by 1.7p from 137.9p to 139.2p. The cost of fuel hasn’t hit these levels since September 2013, when petrol prices reached 135.9p. In October 2013, the cost of diesel sat at 139.15p.
With fuel station stocks low or non-existent, any new stock will be bought at the higher wholesale levels. According to the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), this will see pump prices rise by up to 3 per litre.
The PRA emphasised that the rises are not “gouging” or “profiteering” by retailers during the ongoing fuel crisis. They are simply “the result of global factors converging at the same time.”
The price of Brent Crude oil has increased by over 50% this year, a rise which has been exacerbated by the recent weakening of the pound sterling against the US dollar. The rising cost of petrol also follows periods of consumer panic buying, which saw petrol stations across the UK inundated by queues.
On top of this, the HGV driver shortage in the country is also adding to the problem, with new supplies of fuel now taking longer to be delivered. On Monday, the government deployed the army to help send new supplies to fuel stations around the country.
London and the South East of the country appear to be the areas worst-affected by the ongoing fuel crisis.
The prime minister said army drivers would be prepared to help deliver fuel to affected petrol stations on a short-term basis amid the crisis. The decision was made on Monday at a meeting of cabinet ministers as the industry said that consumer panic buying — not real shortages of petrol and diesel — was the main cause of the problem. However, despite government warnings of panic buying only worsening the situation, many continue to queue at fuel stations.
Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has said, “The UK continues to have strong supplies of fuel. However, we are aware of supply chain issues at fuel station forecourts and are taking steps to ease these as a matter of priority. If required, the deployment of military personnel will provide the supply chain with additional capacity as a temporary measure to help ease pressures caused by spikes in localised demand for fuel.”
The government has released a joint statement from the fuel industry, announcing that companies expect the problem to ease off within the coming days as many drivers will now have full tanks of fuel.
