Fuel Card News
Increasing petrol prices
In the run up to Christmas it seems that motorists will be set to face petrol prices rising to record levels as they fill up their tanks. The RAC has said that petrol prices are set to get to 110p per litre soon and that is the same as £5 a gallon! Prices at that level would equate to a 26% increase on last year’s price of 87p a litre.
Petrol companies blame the increase on the increased cost of fuel but as far as the consumer is concerned all they see is the cost of filling their family car going up. In fact the cost of filling up the average family car has risen from £48.35 to £60.50 over the past year alone.
Unfortunately that is not the end of the motorists’ woes as we are set for further petrol pump misery when the government increases VAT in January which will add a further £1.50 to the cost of the average fill up.
In the run up to Christmas families tend to do more motoring whether it be on shopping trips or trips to visit friends and family and maybe these latest price hikes will make them think twice before making their annual visits.
IT is slightly galling that the rises come after the oil companies reported staggering profits with BP announcing quarterly profits of £3 billion up 60 % on the previous quarter! This has led to some organisations accusing the oil companies of being too quick to raise pump prices when crude prices rise and of being too slow to reduce prices when crude goes the other way. This seems a valid argument as the last time petrol prices were so high crude cost circa $100 a barrel and now it is between $75 and $80 so there does seem to be a bit of variance there.
As the oil companies have blamed the latest price hikes on crude prices, the value of sterling, cost of duty and stock market speculation maybe it is time they were a little more transparent when they report so motorists can clearly see where their money is going.
Meanwhile there is some good news because according to the RAC the cost of motoring in the UK has actually fallen by 5% (£123) in 2009. This is due to the lower cost of road tax for some lower output cars, the scrapage scheme, and the lower cost of cars generally. In spite of this most drivers believe the cost of motoring has risen.
The impact of the rise in petrol and diesel price can be felt in a lot of firms who employ drivers and operate a fleet of vehicles. Industry that is already struggling can hardly afford this extra expense. One way they may be able to cut costs is to use fuel cards which, apart from being easy to use, efficient and fraud preventative, can offer discounted fuel prices. To take advantage of this contact Cambrian Fuelcard Services to discuss your options.