The cost of living crisis has seen rising prices across a variety of industries. Simultaneously, energy, gas and food bills have all increased at a rapid rate with reasons cited including the Coronavirus pandemic, the war in Ukraine and supply chain issues.
Another necessity for millions of households which has also seen a steep rise in prices is fuel. The cost of both petrol and diesel has been steadily rising since the start of the year.
Many of us have had to cut the amount of time we spend travelling in a bid to reduce how much of our money is being spent filling up our tanks. On the Gov.uk website, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy regularly publish road fuel price statistics, providing average UK retail ‘pump’ prices on a weekly basis.
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The weekly road fuel prices table stipulates the cost of unleaded petrol (ULSP) and unleaded diesel (ULSD). It dates all the way back to 9 June 2003 when the first weekly fuel price was recorded.
It provides a fascinating insight into the fluctuations of fuel prices across a prolonged period of time. The latest update was added to the bottom of the table today, showcasing the average price of petrol and diesel of the week commencing 23 May 2022.
The pump price in pence/litre was recorded as being 167.67 while the average pump price for diesel is 181.14 - all-time highs for both fuels. This is an increase of 2.58 pence for petrol and 1.47 pence for diesel when compared to last week.
Stretching further back to the first week of February, the price of petrol was 145.74 while a litre of diesel set you back 149.68 pence. This is a remarkable rise of 15% and 21% respectively in just under five months.
The first reading on this table (June 2003) has the two figures at just 74.59 and 76.77. The first time that both of these numbers exceeded a pound came in 2007, just before the 2008 recession.
The price of fuel has increased because of a rise in the price of crude oil, which is used to make petrol and diesel. At the start of the pandemic, demand for energy collapsed - pushing down prices.
However, as life returned to normal, suppliers sometimes struggled to meet the growing demand for energy, leading to rises in price, which was only made worse by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Russia is one of the world's largest exporters of oil. So demand for oil from other producers has risen, leading to higher prices.
