Petrol prices on brink of new high
Petrol prices are expected to reach a new record high this week, but The AA believes retailers are artificially inflating prices.
Petrol prices reached 143p per litre this weekend, with diesel prices up to 146p.
However, the AA has accused retailers of passing the increases in the wholesale cost of diesel onto petrol.
The AA’s fuel spokesman Luke Bosdet said: “The AA recognises that there is probably still turmoil in the fuel trade after the panic buying, and that may well have disrupted diesel contracts. It also understands that it is basic commerce for a retailer to load more profit on to some items than others.
“But for the petrol retailers to state that the rise in petrol prices, and likely a new record, is completely down to circumstances beyond their control just doesn’t ring true and has to be challenged.”
However, the PRA said rising prices on the forecourt was a direct result of the high cost of crude oil.
Chairman Brian Madderson, said: “The primary reason is the rise and rise of crude oil costs. This involves more than a 50% increase since January 2021 and has been caused by a cutback in production from OPEC countries and Russia at the same time as the global economies are staging a rapid economic turnaround from the global pandemic.”
