Petrol and diesel prices rise again amid Iran war in fresh blow to drivers
New figures from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero show motorists are being dealt a fresh blow as petrol and diesel prices rise again.
The average price of unleaded petrol at pumps in the UK on 16 March was 140.28p per litre. The average price of diesel was 158.78 pence per litre.
Today the department announced that the average price on 23 March was 144.16 pence for unleaded and 166.88 pence for diesel.
This means an increase of 3.9p per week for unleaded engines and 8.1p per week for diesel.
The increase in fuel prices came at a time when the energy crisis caused by the US-Israeli war with Iran continues.
Tehran is blockading the Strait of Hormuz, halting the flow of oil through a vital shipping route leaving the Middle East.
But drivers should not drive slower or buy fuel differently because of the oil crisis, an energy minister said.
Michael Shanks said British drivers did not need to change their habits despite recommendations from the International Energy Agency (IEA) to save fuel.
The IEA has advised drivers around the world to reduce their speed on motorways, share vehicles and work from home where possible to reduce the amount of petrol or diesel they use.
Asked by Times Radio whether British motorists needed to change their habits, Mr Shanks told the broadcaster: “They need to do things absolutely normally as there is no shortage of fuel anywhere in the country at the moment.
“We monitor this every day, I look at the numbers myself. There is no problem with it.”
The minister added: “People should go about their business as normal. That’s what the RAC and the AA are saying. It’s really important that people do that.”
“There is no fuel shortage and everything is working normally.”
Rachel Reeves will outline plans to guard against unfair price rises on Tuesday after laying out her plans to the Prime Minister and colleagues at an emergency Cobra meeting on Monday afternoon.
It comes after Sir Keir Starmer said he was considering increasing the competition regulator’s powers and giving it “more teeth” to tackle profiteering.
This could involve giving regulators “time-limited, targeted powers” and the Treasury, Trade and Trade and regulators were said to be working “quickly” on what those powers might be.
The Chancellor is also expected to tell the House of Commons that Britain needs a diverse energy mix to protect the public from volatile fossils. fuel It highlights the importance of not letting markets and “blockers” get in the way of expanding Britain’s nuclear energy supply.
Ms. Reeves will announce that she is exploring government-backed compensation for critical energy security projects so that construction can continue if a project is legally challenged.
War in the Middle East helped stall growth in Britain’s private sector this month, new figures show; The disruptions caused shipment delays and a rapid increase in inflation for companies.
The S&P Global UK composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI), which is closely followed by economists, fell to 51.0 on Match from 53.7 in February.
Activity was still in growth territory, as indicated by any score above the 50.0 threshold.
But the score reached a six-month low and businesses reported that the war between the US-Israel and Iran affected customer demand, input prices and supply chains during the month.
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