Plan B Forum

Price of petrol hits record high

The average price of unleaded petrol has hit a new high of 119.9p a litre, analysts Experian Catalist have said.

Prices have been increasing steadily since the end of last year as the pound has weakened, which makes imported fuel more expensive.

The previous record was 119.7p, reached in July 2008 when the price of oil peaked at $147 a barrel.

Rising wholesale prices have also added to the price, as well as a 1p rise in fuel duty which took effect on 1 April.

A further 1p rise in duty is due in October and an increase of 0.76p is set for January 2011.

"This is a dark day for motorists," said RAC motoring strategist Adrian Tink.

"Petrol prices have been rising steadily over the past year and have now reached the inevitable record high.

"However, this is only the average. In some areas, motorists will be paying close to £6 a gallon (131.9p a litre)."

According to price comparison site petrolprices.com, the most expensive petrol station in the country is on the M1 motorway in Buckinghamshire, which is charging 130.9p a litre.

The cheapest are two stations in Yorkshire, which are charging 114.9p a litre.

The average price of diesel is currently 120.65p a litre, according to Experian Catalist, still well below the record average of 133.25p, also set in July 2008.

Brendan McLoughlin at petrolprices.com says the fall in the value of sterling is the main reason behind the rise.

"We have seen fuel duty rises too, but the impact of the exchange rate has been the single largest cause of rising pump prices lately."

The pound has fallen by about 15 cents against the dollar in the past few months.

In November, it was trading at $1.67. It is currently trading at $1.52.

Another reason for the rising price on the forecourt is increased refining costs, which have pushed up the wholesale price of petrol.

This, together with currency movements, helps to explain the record petrol price despite the fact that oil currently costs about $85 a barrel, well below the $147 a barrel it cost when petrol prices were last this high.

The best hope for a fall in the price of petrol, according to the AA, is for the pound to strengthen.

"We can only hope that the 6 May election produces a result that strengthens the pound and puts downward pressure on pump prices," said the motoring group's Paul Watters.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/b ... 609542.stm

Published: 2010/04/08 17:04:20 GMT

bigskygal wrote:$9.20/gal for gasoline?!?!

Holy shit; good thing distances in the UK are so much shorter than here!

@meric@nwom@n wrote:Yeah but at least if you get hit by a car you can get health care without going bankrupt.

Anyway, anyone who shells out that much bread for gas is certifiably insane!

Big RR wrote:

Anyway, anyone who shells out that much bread for gas is certifiably insane!

That sounds nice, but, especially in the US, we'd pay whatever the price was to get our "fix"; what other choice do we have? There's effectively no public transit in most areas, and few of us live within walking/biking distance of food stores, let alone our work.