Further increases in forecourt fuel prices are predicted if the cost of oil continues to follow the trajectory commodity strategists have forecast.
Vehicle leasing and fleet management company Arval said the increasing price of a barrel of crude oil expected following agreed cuts to OPEC production had already jacked up prices on forecourts.
The price of a barrel of crude doubled from about $30 (£24) a barrel a year ago to close to $60 at the end of 2016.
Mike Waters, head of product and insight at Arval said: “A doubling of the market price for crude oil over a two-year period will always be reflected in prices on UK forecourts, with current prices already around 16p per litre higher than 12 months ago.”
The AA’s Fuel Price Report for December shows supermarket prices for unleaded averaged 111.9p a litre and the gap between supermarket prices and the UK average for unleaded grew to 3.2p a litre.
Prices have continued to rise into the new year with the average price now 119.55p for unleaded, with prices ranging from 111.7p to 136.9p, according to PetrolPrices.com.
No comments yet