Diesel prices: ‘shameless profiteering’, says FairFuelUK22 January 2016

Fuel retailers are “shamelessly” exploiting diesel prices to increase forecourt profits. That’s the claim from campaign group FairFuelUK, which adds that, based on 75 million litres of diesel sold per day, retailers are pocketing around £2.25m of wholesale price cuts.

The organisation says that since May 2015, oil prices have dropped by more than 55%; wholesale diesel prices have fallen by a similar amount (54%), yet pump prices are only 34% lower.

In addition, it points out, since January 2015 wholesale diesel supplied to retailers has been higher priced than petrol on average for 30 weeks. At the pumps, however, diesel drivers have been paying more than petrol for 49 weeks of the year.

Howard Cox, founder of the FairFuelUK campaign, says: “Everything about fuel pricing hits UK drivers hard at the pumps, from opportunistic profiteering suppliers holding on to beneficial recent oil price falls, to the heinous 74% taxation in duty and VAT.

“We call on the Competition and Markets Authority and the government to investigate and stop this unparalleled greed plus deliberate exploitation of motorists and our vital haulage industry, while oil prices crash.”

Author
Laura Cork

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