dailyloe.com – Petrol and diesel prices in the UK have fallen slightly for the first time since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran. The RAC motoring organisation reported the decline. Pump prices began to ease on Thursday and continued on Friday. The falls follow weeks of sharp increases.
The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz dramatically pushed up wholesale prices. This key transit route is vital for oil and gas. The closure led to sustained price rises at the pump. The recent decline has been very small over two days.
Diesel has come down by 0.6p and petrol by 0.3p. Diesel is now just below 191p a litre. Petrol is just under 158p a litre. Filling a car with diesel remains about £26 higher than in late February.
A tank of petrol costs nearly £14 more than in late February. The RAC believes further falls can be expected. Costs on wholesale markets have remained below recent peaks. This suggests more reductions are possible.
Simon Williams is head of policy at the RAC. He said they are hopeful for further reductions. These could amount to several pence a litre in coming days. Williams said drivers will be relieved to see prices going down.
He noted this follows record price rises. The rises over the past six weeks were significant. The average cost of diesel went from 142p a litre to nearly 192p. Petrol rose from 133p to more than 158p.
Fuel prices remain below summer 2022 levels. That peak followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Petrol reached 191.5p a litre then. Diesel hit 199p a litre at that time.
The increased cost of fuel is a serious concern. Heating oil costs have also risen. People are struggling to make ends meet. The Office for National Statistics provided survey data.
The proportion of people citing fuel prices rose sharply. It went from 38% in February to 75% in March. This was a reason for increased living costs. Aman Navani commented on the survey findings.
Aman Navani is a senior research and policy analyst. He works at the Work Foundation at Lancaster University. He said the survey suggests growing household anxiety. This anxiety is about global economic shocks.
Navani said the fuel price rise coincides with falling nominal wage growth. Private sector workers have seen paltry real wage increases. Low-income and insecure workers have little buffer. The impact of the Middle East war is hitting the UK.[]
Source: BBC
