Sammie Ellard-King
I’m Sammie, a money expert and business owner passionate about helping you take control of your wallet. My mission with Up the Gains is to create a safe space to help improve your finances, cut your costs and make you feel good while doing it.
Drivers in the UK have been asked not to panic buy petrol in anticipation of rising prices due to conflict – so naturally some petrol stations now have lengthy queues.
The conflict affects the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway through which about 20% of the world’s oil and gas is shipped.
As a result, oil prices jumped by $5 a barrel to $78.
And naturally, some of Britain’s motorists have ignored the message that there’s no need to panic buy.
How Bad Are the Queues?
According to the Metro, there are long queues outside some UK petrol stations, with some drivers reportedly waiting over an hour.
But Forecourt Trader says many petrol stations pictured with long queues were Costco sites, where petrol is generally cheaper anyway and queues are usually busy.
They spoke to petrol station operators who said they’d seen higher volume but it’s been a “constant flow, rather than having people queueing out onto the road.”
More news:
Will Petrol Prices Actually Rise?
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “The oil price would have to rise significantly and stay that way for some time to have a dramatic effect.”
“If oil were to climb to and stay at the $80 a barrel mark, then drivers could expect to pay an average of 136p for petrol. At $90, we’d be looking at over 140p a litre and $100 would take us nearer to 150p.”
But he stressed: “Even though the price of dated Brent crude rose by five dollars a barrel yesterday to 78 dollars, the impact of this shouldn’t be felt for over a week.”
He also noted there was a tendency for price increases to be passed on far more quickly than cuts.
Are Prices Actually High Right Now?
No. AA spokesperson Luke Bosdet said “pump averages today are still below where they started the year” and petrol is “almost 6.5p a litre cheaper than this time last year.”
Currently, the average price for petrol is 133.4p a litre and 143.2p for diesel, according to AA data.
The AA says over the next few weeks fuel costs could return to where they were at the start of the year. Further rises will depend on the magnitude and duration of the conflict.
“There’s no point wasting time, fuel and money queuing when drivers don’t need to,” Bosdet said.
When Might Prices Rise?
AA president Edmund King said if “record prices” were coming, it would be “within the next 10 to 12 days” we’d start seeing it rather than right now.
There remains huge uncertainty at this stage as to whether the conflict will have a lasting effect on oil and gas prices.
The UK is heavily reliant on oil and gas imports, with most coming from the US and Norway.
Though the UK does get oil from the North Sea, most of that is exported as the UK doesn’t have adequate refinery capabilities to make it useable.
The price the UK pays for gas and oil depends on how much it’s traded for on global markets.
Is the UK Running Out of Petrol?
No. The UK has a petrol supply, so Britain is not about to run out of fuel.
But one of the ironies of panic buying is that it risks making supply issues worse for a time by creating temporary shortages.
We all remember the scramble for toilet roll during the pandemic when it turned out there would have been enough if people hadn’t panicked.
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