Oil Price Surge Drives Petrol to Record High in U.K.
Soaring oil and biofuel prices have driven up what motorists pay for gasoline in the U.K. to a record.
(Bloomberg) --
Soaring oil and biofuel prices have driven up what motorists pay for gasoline in the U.K. to a record.
The price of the road fuel reached an all-time high of GBP1.46 ($1.96) a liter on Thursday amid stubbornly high oil prices and rising costs for biofuel components in gasoline, one of the nation’s main motoring organizations -- the RAC -- said Friday. That equates to about $7.40 a gallon.
Soaring fuel bills and energy costs are adding to inflationary pressures globally. In the U.S., pump prices less than half those in the U.K. are piling pressure on the Biden administration to act. As well as calling on OPEC nations to open the taps for more oil exports, there is even talk of the U.S. banning crude exports to bring down the price of gasoline.
The price of diesel also rose to a record GBP1.50 a liter in the U.K., according to the RAC.
“Oil is still trading well above $80 and the cost of the bio components of both fuels are higher than ever and retailers are still taking more margin per litre than they traditionally do,” said RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams. Rising prices will also have an impact on businesses, many of which “tend to be very dependent on diesel, and, in turn, this will lead to a knock-on effect on retail prices potentially adding more fuel to the fire of rising inflation.”
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.