？
Close
Keir Starmer urges government to go 'further and faster' with Russian sanctions
With average costs of petrol and diesel soaring to record highs in the UK, drivers will be seeing “unbelievably high prices on forecourts”, the RAC has warned, as petrol hit more than ￡2 a litre at some London forecourts.
The average cost of a tank of petrol was nearing ￡88 on Thursday, while diesel exceeded ￡92 and sat “on a clear path to ￡1.70 a litre”, RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said.
But there was a “hint of better news” as crude oil prices stabilised below $120 a barrel after the UAE signalled it would push other oil exporting nations to boost production in an attempt to fill some of the gap left by Russia.
This “could lead, in a week or so, to a slight slowing in the daily pump price increases, and records being broken less frequently”, Mr Williams said.
However experts warned that oil prices would remain volatile and could spike further, while gas prices look set to remain high as Europe weans itself off Russian supplies.
Recommended Oil price fall provides relief for UK households but living standards still expected to drop sharply Petrol hits new record high of 159.6p as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupts oil supplies Slash VAT to help families weather cost-of-living storm, demand Lib Dems
Key Points Drivers seeing ‘unbelievably high prices on forecourts’, RAC warns Experts welcome ‘hint of better news’ as oil prices stabilise
Show latest update 1646989192 Slash VAT to help families weather cost-of-living storm, demand Lib Dems
Our political editor Andrew Woodcock has this exclusive report on calls for broader VAT cuts:
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has today set out a bold plan to help families weather the cost of living crisis with a one-year 2.5 per cent cut in VAT, paid for in part by an extended windfall tax on energy companies.
Speaking to The Independent on the eve of his party’s annual spring conference, Sir Ed said Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have failed to take the “radical” steps needed to shelter voters from what is shaping up to be the harshest economic storm for 50 years.
He said the cut in VAT from 20 to 17.5 per cent would put an average ￡600 a year in the pockets of struggling families.
The ￡18bn cost would be funded partly from borrowing – “the right thing to do in a one-off crisis”, he says – and partly from an increase in the “Robin Hood” tax on North Sea oil and gas giants demanded by Lib Dems.
Having previously called for a ￡5bn levy, Sir Ed now says he would boost the take to somewhere around ￡10bn to reflect the additional profits being made “on the back of Putin’s aggression” in Ukraine.
Slash VAT to help families weather cost of living storm, demand Lib Dems Exclusive: At spring conference, leader Ed Davey hopes to position Lib Dems as ‘party of fair taxes’
Andy Gregory 11 March 2022 08:59
1646987910 Rishi Sunak told to cut VAT on petrol and diesel
The transport industry has called on the government to cut VAT on petrol and diesel as rising prices create “a really quite tough” situation for drivers.
Simon Williams, fuel spokesman for the RAC, told BBC Radio 4 this morning: “We know from our long-term research that eight in 10 drivers would struggle to be without their car, so having access to a car in a pandemic has also become more important, and so it's really quite tough now."
“The cost of filling up is over ￡88 for petrol and ￡92 for diesel,” he said, adding that the pandemic had already caused prices to rise.
The RAC is urging the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to take action, he said, adding: “One thing he could do is reduce VAT on petrol and diesel.
“At the moment, just the VAT, which is of course called a tax on a tax, is bringing 26 pence per litre so, bringing that back to 15 per cent would instantly cut it by about six pence per litre.”
Andy Gregory 11 March 2022 08:38
1646987393 Drivers ‘will be seeing some unbelievably high prices on forecourts'
As the average prices of petrol and diesel in the UK hit record highs this week, RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “A tank of petrol is now almost ￡88 while diesel has now gone over ￡92.
“Diesel unfortunately appears to be on a clear path to ￡1.70 a litre.
“As this is an average price, drivers will be seeing some unbelievably high prices on forecourts as retailers pass on their increased wholesale costs.
“But there was a hint of better news yesterday on the wholesale market with substantial drops in both petrol and diesel which could lead, in a week or so, to a slight slowing in the daily pump price increases, and records being broken less frequently.”
Andy Gregory 11 March 2022 08:29
1646986887 Oil price fall provides relief for UK households
UK households at last had some positive news about living costs on Thursday after two weeks of sharp oil price rises, my colleague Ben Chapman reports.
Yesterday, oil prices stabilised below $120 a barrel, after recent surges pushed the cost of filling up petrol tanks across the country.
Major disruption to oil supplies as Russia intensified its bombardment of Ukrainian cities had caused petrol and diesel prices to hit new record levels almost daily, adding to the squeeze facing British consumers.
Experts said upward pressures on petrol prices had eased after the United Arab Emirates signalled it would push other oil exporting nations to boost production.
Analysts shelved their most pessimist predictions of $200-a-barrel oil and said lower prices could provide some respite for struggling consumers, although any change in wholesale prices would take a few weeks to filter through to UK forecourts.
That means petrol could briefly hit ￡1.80 a litre before falling back down, according to estimates from Capital Economics, a consultancy.
Oil price fall provides relief for UK households but living standards still face hit Petrol forecast to hit ￡1.80 a litre before falling back down
Andy Gregory 11 March 2022 08:21
1646986654
Good morning, we’ll be using this blog to provide you with live updates on the cost of fuel in the UK, as Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine hits global oil prices.
Andy Gregory 11 March 2022 08:17