Middle East war: Yorkshire petrol stations told to 'stop profiteering' from crisis
A Yorkshire business group has urged petrol stations to “stop profiteering” from the crisis in the Middle East and hiking up fuel prices.
Prices for unleaded at some forecourts have hit £1.70 as Iran has restricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz – a vital route for oil and gas supplies.
Three commercial ships were hit by “unknown projectiles” in the region in separate incidents yesterday morning, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre, run by the British military.
But the Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce made the point that any petrol being sold now was bought long before the US and Israeli bombing campaign started.
Managing director David Hooper said: “It makes me really cross to see petrol and diesel retailers hiking fuel prices at the first excuse they get.
“The fuel they’ve already bought and is sitting in tanks under their forecourts is bought weeks in advance and hasn’t gone up so they’re simply ripping off motorists.
“Worse than that, they’re adding costs to hard-pressed businesses – everything gets delivered to the shops by trucks, if you increase their costs by raising fuel prices, those higher costs will quickly be passed on to the consumer which then drives up inflation and interest rates.”
The International Energy Agency has proposed the largest-ever release of strategic oil reserves, after G7 finance ministers on Monday discussed tapping the stockpiles to address oil prices sent soaring by the Middle East war.
Prices reached near four-year highs above 100 US dollars a barrel on Monday, before falling again on Tuesday as US President Donald Trump said the war could soon be over.
The Government is working with the Competition and Markets Authority on “any price gouging” in heating oil as households have seen prices doubled, Rachel Reeves said, adding that she would meet the competition watchdog and petrol retailers today
Amid calls for her to scrap the planned 5p increase in fuel duty this autumn, the Chancellor reiterated to the Treasury Committee yesterday that policies are always “under review”.
She said: “We always keep all taxes under review, but it is much too early – when those changes are not due to come into effect until September – to guess where petrol prices will be then.
“But I’m very loath to spend Government money on something that the market should be doing, and that’s why greater competition and greater transparency about pricing is so important.
“I would rather we have a properly functioning market where customers have decent information about prices at different petrol forecourts, rather than subsidising the money, which often actually just goes to the retailer.”
Sir Keir Starmer said the planned fuel duty rise was being kept under review and insisted that Whitehall departments were working to mitigate the potential cost-of-living impact from the war.
At Prime Minister’s Questions he told Tory leader Kemi Badenoch: “Fuel duty is frozen. It’s going to remain frozen until September and we will keep the situation under review in light of what’s happening in Iran.”