Petrol prices are soaring to a new high, approaching £5 a gallon for the first time. The cost of oil surged through the 100 dollars-a-barrel mark for the first time last night, meaning that more misery is on the way for motorists.
Each visit to the petrol station to fill up now costs an average of £7.36 more than it did this time last year, according to the AA.
And there is little prospect of prices falling again, leading to a threat of inflation and the destabilisation of the British economy.
British drivers now face paying a new high of 103.3p for a litre of unleaded petrol, beating the record of 102.92p set on Boxing Day.
The AA revealed that diesel now costs just under 108p a litre, just short of the record 108p set on December 6. If and when prices hit the £1.10 a litre mark, it will mean that fuel is selling at more than £5 a gallon.
The AA’s Paul Watters said: “The closure of superstores over the festive holidays may account for the new record high for petrol.”
The oil price increase is bad news for the economy as well as the UK’s 33million motorists. It is set to slow the speed at which the Bank of England is able to cut interest rates. Meanwhile, British Gas says higher gas prices mean that bills for its 10million customers might have to rise, and rising food prices threaten to push up the cost of the weekly supermarket shop.
The soaring price of oil has been blamed on the weak dollar, violence in Africa and the Middle East and fears over declining US oil stocks.
The price of gold – seen as a safe haven for investors – also soared to its highest level yet as investors fretted over the prospect of further cuts in US interest rates to stave off a recession.
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30 Comments
It never ceases to amaze me that a government wishing to keep inflation low introduces inflationery pressures into the economy by increasing the amount of duty payable on petrol and diesel. If they would fix the rate instead of raising it, they may find inflation much easier to control!
These fuel costs are getting out of hand. This government is an absolute disgrace, It does not seam 2 minutes when we where all disgusted when we where paying 4 pound a gallon.
The only way to beat them at there own game is to boycott the 2 main petrol companys. Use the cheaper supermarkets then the 2 big comapnys will have to reduce prices to compete, in turn the the supermarkets will have to lower prices to compete with them and so on.
We the “buyer” should dictate the price of fuel not greedy governments or oil companys
Constantly the car driver is punished. Some of us have no choice but to drive as there is NO public transport, and without a car I couldn’t get to work. With no other options I have to pay more and more to drive, and the Gorvernment loonies know this is the case. If it went to £3 a litre we’d have to pay, what other choice is there?
They know this and that is why taxing the motorist is an easy option, and we’ll continue to be punished and ripped off. Take the tax out of motoring and what a cheap mode of transport it would be.
And what did they say in 1997? Things can only get better??? Ever rue the day?
I just dont believe that we will let it ever get that far, but then it does seem from past experiences that we are only a nation of moaners and not doers. If the population of the uk honestly believe that by making a stance it will change thingsthey should do it and not leave it to someone else. Every heard of the story someone, everyone and no-one well thats britian alright. Act where necessary otherwise just shut up and put up.
I would certainly walk to work be it 3 miles or more but my work start time would be the time i left the house and i would finish early to ensure i was at home for 5pm. I do need my car for work but I dont see why I should incurr the extra charges, so my resources would be limited.
Cheap at half the price,mind you I do have a fully funded company car
Looking forward to the day when it is £20 a gallon …… it will be like going back in time ….. no congestion on the highways …. and driving will be like it used to be .. A pleasure! …… But then like “lol” I too have a fully funded luxury company car … LOL.
is this another trick to get us on public transport? and is anybody selling any mountin bikes? i feal were going to need a load.
5 and 6 But when it does reach 20 a gallon and nobody is using the roads your Company car tax will be lets say 8k a year.
I run 2 cars and 2 bikes (not all at the same time there is only one of me lol)and to be honest if it where 20 a gallon i would still be running them but its the principle of the matter
It never ceases to amaze me how short-sighted some people can be. We would all be affected whether we have the luxury of a company car or not. For instance we would all pay more for our food and other consumables.
the government MUST reduce the tax on fuel: it’s crippling the nation.
That, or we riot.
Isn’t that the whole point to electing an MP, the voice of the people in the borough of which they serve.
But why are so many remaining silent? They obviously do not want to stick out like sore thumbs and be in jeopardy of losing their luxurious roles.
Shame the honest working public are hit by the fuel increases 3-4 times over. Businesses juat offload all costs/increases to the consumer.
People pay tax through the nose of every damn thing they do, yet get very little back.
It’s totally got out of hand, yet will unlikely change as the government now depends on all taxes to try and balance the books.
You people in england are lucky you only pay 105pounds but we in turkey pay 3.11 lira which at to exchange rate is 1.34pounds per litre
mr brown is gonna feel a real cold snap soon people are getting fed up of this tax tax tax tax loving government,it’s only 9 pence a litre in saudi arabia,20 pence in the usa,so why do we keep putting up with this rip off britain,it’s no wonder over 300,000 brits leave this rotten to the core country every year,brown must bring down the price of a litre soon or face a total break down in this country god help us.
How long will it take before your readers realise that fuel prices are set by OPEC, based on supply and demand.
We are using a lot of fuel (that’s high demand, in case your readers don’t know what it means) and we are running out of supply, so price goes up.
It’s a pretty basic thing to understand, really.
You can save money and avoid rising fuel prices by
a) moving nearer to where you work. Because you live 50 miles away from your workplace doesn’t give you the right to drive to work, thereby causing pollution, increasing the risk of accidents for everyone who lives in between.
b) Walking to the shops. The number of people I see on my road who drive the 200m to the convenience store is embarrassing. I bet they’re some of the ones whingeing about fuel prices. Why are you so lazy?
c) Getting a bike. That way you can save money too by avoiding the triple heart bypass you’re heading towards by driving your hulking fat body everywhere.
d) Taking the bus. Yes, I know you have to sit next to other people, but just because you’re used to being an anti-social c*** and sitting on your own in your car, doesn’t mean that you have the right to ignore everyone else. The fact that you have ignored society for so long is part of the reason why those “other people” on the bus seem like the dregs of society because, actually, the rest of you are driving cars.
See, it’s really quite easy to save money. Apart from being easier on your pocket, you will also be contributing to reducing the 3500 people killed each year on roads in Britain in car accidents, reducing air and noise pollution (remember what silence sounded like? No, you don’t, because your cars have destroyed it), reducing congestion and making road freight, buses and coaches more reliable (and cheaper), as well as improving the opportunities for children to play in the street and walk to school as parents will be less worried about traffic on the roads.
We here in the U S A I thought we had it bad but yours is worse,we top $3.00 a gallon.But what do we do about it NOTHING.It is time we got togather and pulled off an international STRIKE,The petrol company’s have gone to far.I for one will support any movement to get prices down.Be British,and lets pull togather as we did in WW2.Thank You and Good luck.
Anybody noticed the prices shooting up in the supermarkets?
We came over to Dudley in May/June for our yearly holiday, sorry to say it will be a long time before we can return-the doller is so bad we cannot afford to visit and spend as we used to.
It would cost my wifes weekly wage just for one meal out, for 4 people !
Canada is as bad now.
wellsaid jean. we all end uppaying if we drive or not !
well you no what that means then time to change fule type lpg/cooking oil thank god we have so many fast food joints oh no the goverment warns about been too fat lol
please please think about what the goverment is doing not to you but your country what is it trying to do if they cut petrol prices then there would be lower inflaction and more more icomnmic growth. i will be certen to change my car with is a 1.2 over to a bio fule or even turn it to lpg witch is 52pence a litre grovey
robert miller you are so short sighted,
87% of what you pay on fuel is tax! not because were running out but becuase there greedy! you pay tax on money when you earn it, pay vat when you spend it, pay fuel duty on fuel which you then get charged vat on, you pay road tax to drive on the roads. then rising fuel costs put up prices for goods as transport costs go up, this week teh cost of the star has gone from 35 to 38p because of transport costs in delivering the papers, moving teh raw paper to teh presses and ink. we are truely being ripped off as a nation by this goverment, clarkson for pm!
No. 14 Mr Miller
Wake up and smell the coffee. I work 32 miles from my home. I have worked for 36 years to be able to live 32 miles away from my work, how do I get to work? There are not trains, metro, buses (most subsidised in some form by the tax payer)for all, not everyone falls out of their house onto public transport,so how do we survive? You have a rant about everything, I would love to know where you live simply to see how many times you have complained about noisy neighbours, kids playing in the street, noisy radios,litter in the street, etc.Please do not preach to everyone that they are fat, stupid, anti social idiots who are killing the planet, and concerning the price of fuel do you know how much tax is placed on every litre by the Government. There is more pollution caused in one Rambo film with exlosions, burning tyres etc than I would cause if I lived to be a 1,000 and had 50 cars. Go and have a lie down in a dark room and chill out you are so full of hate for evrything I tyhink you are missing the point!
In response to Mr. Miller, I think you need to get off your soap box! Its a good thing we don’t have too many people who have the same views as yourself.
You sound like the sort of typical anti social person I try to avoid at all times! Go out and get a life.
I am sitting here smilling to myself, agreeing with most of you and disgreeing with others and you know what makes me laugh we are complaining about the cost of the high petrol prices so what are we doing, running around taking recycleable item were possible to the tips, bottle banks etc etc, surely we should get something back afterall its the damn government that wont reduce the price of petrol yet expect us to drive and help them recycle. Britain needs to make a stance.
Mr Miller,
How rude,patronising & ignorant.
You have just undermined your argument.
clearly frustrated…can’t you drive?
If you don’t like it….
EMIGRATE
I will soon.
baggy boy I dont pay tax,my company is based overseas
well said lisa, totally agree with you, maybe people should stop recycling until the government give something back ie lower fuel prices.
26 LOL. But surley you eat food purchase goods all the prices will be going up. I am personly firly well off so to be honest it does not really matter to me whether its £5 or £10 a gallon its the principle of the matter.
Its about time the working class people (myself included) did something pro-active to try to prevent this daylight robbery.
This government whould tax the air people breathe if they could.
Lisa very good point on the recycling
14 robert miller, point D £1.10 for 2 stops on the bus an average of lets say half a mile journey its cheaper to run a car at those prices its not down to snobbery or anti social c*** as you put it. If the government want us to reduce carbon footprint they should heavy subsidise public transport.
How would road freight be any cheaper the whole debate is the price of fuel of which road frieght has to use
I don’t think it matters if you have a ‘fully-funded company car’ or not. Personally, I don’t have one, because of the appalling tax liability and partly because I don’t want soemeone elses choice of what I should drive foisted on me. I pay for my own car and charge my business the appropriate mileage. However, as fuel costs go up, I pay more per mile. So I charge my customers more - and everybody loses.
And, if any company car drivers are tempted to feel smug, then - don’t forget - your company will be passing the cost onto your customers. If they pass too much cost on, then your jobs could be at risk. Fianlly, Mr Miller - top marks. You managed to be patronising, ignorant and obscene at the same time. Are you sure that you’re suited to sharing public transport with other people?