Could UK petrol and diesel prices rise due to the Middle East conflict?
Rising oil prices and global tensions could mean a jump in fuel costs for UK motorists...
Motorists could soon be spending more at fuel pumps following the surge in oil prices as a result of the situation in the Middle East.
Oil prices jumped by 10% in the days following the most recent conflict involving Iran, with gas prices also increasing. Experts predict this will have a knock-on effect for a number of goods, including the price of petrol and diesel.
This comes as a result of Iran warning vessels not to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway at the south of the country through which 20% of the world’s oil and gas is transported.
The price of Brent Crude reached a high of $82 a barrel on Monday, up from $73 (a seven-month high) before the conflict, but fell back to $79 after its initial surge. Crude oil is a key ingredient in petrol and diesel, which means prices at the pumps could reverse their downward trend and start creeping back up to where they were at the start of the year.
According to data from breakdown provider RAC, the current price of petrol is 132.7p a litre, while diesel is 142.3p a litre.
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “Forecourt prices were already on the rise due oil trading nearer to $70 a barrel in the last few weeks. Regardless of the current situation, petrol rose by a penny a litre in February and is likely to go up by another penny in the next week or so to an average of 134p a litre.
“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 it’s all too soon to know.”
AA president Edmund King said: “Pump prices in the coming weeks will inevitably increase, possibly in the short-term back up to where they were at the start of [the] year. Petrol in February had been at a low of 131.9p a litre. It had started this year at 135.7p a litre.”
King told The Times: “Drivers beware, within the next 10 to 12 days we could be seeing record prices at the pumps.”
However, the current price of oil remains well below the highs it reached following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, increasing up to $127 a barrel in March of that year. The price of petrol that year reached a high of 191.4p a litre.
Williams said that, while the conflict in Iran has the potential to drive fuel prices up, this isn’t a certainty:
“The oil price would have to rise significantly and stay that way for some time to have a dramatic effect.”
For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here
