Unleaded and diesel prices continued to climb throughout November, with the average cost of a tank of diesel now around £2.80 higher than it was at the start of the month.
Across November, diesel rose by 4.7ppl, while unleaded increased by nearly 3ppl. This happened despite crude oil becoming slightly cheaper. Brent closed the month at $63/bbl, down from $64.30/bbl on 1st November.
So why were pump prices rising while crude was falling?
Drone attacks targeting Russia’s refining infrastructure sent global refining margins sharply higher, while attacks near the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk disrupted crude loadings. Reducing refining capacity reduces both the demand for crude oil and the supply of refined products.
According to data from Portland Pricing, wholesale diesel rose by $70/tonne by mid-November, with unleaded up $40/tonne. These higher wholesale costs squeezed retailers’ margins and ultimately forced pump prices higher.
There is some good news for motorists. Pricing pressures have started to ease, at least for now. On 30th November, the number of stations reducing prices on both unleaded and diesel outnumbered those increasing them. This is the first time this has happened in more than three weeks.
If this trend continues, we should see the pace of price rises slow, with the possibility of actual price reductions in the coming weeks. Retail margins are currently above the six-month average, suggesting there is room for pump prices to soften if wholesale costs continue to stabilise.
This will be a welcome relief after a month of steady increases.
Supermarket Price Trends
Asda currently leads on price for both unleaded and diesel, while Tesco shows the widest price variance. Morrisons is the most consistent across its network, with the lowest price variation. So, depending on where you live, the cheapest supermarket may vary.
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Forecourts increased the prices in expectation of the Chancellor raising them further in the budget, adding to their greed.
[…] spokesperson for Petrolprices.com, which has also analysed recent trends, said: “Unleaded and diesel prices continued to climb […]
The corrupt, money grabbing government has instructed retailers to do this to compensate for not raising fuel duty. Crude has dropped by $10 since the summer so the market doesn’t support your explanation
despite any falls in the price of crude oil per barrel~all these forecourts/petrol stations etc have a very nasty yearly habit of putting the price up as we approach christmas to profit on people making all those christmas journey’s~no christmas spirit for the customer~just extra profit for the retailer’s~scrooges
I’ve never been a fan of ASDA fuel stations – there is no indication of price until you get to the pump and not always a receipt and no-one to complain at their robotic fillups. Cheapest near us at the moment is both Tesco and Sainsbury’s that have increased their prices over the last two weeks, first to 130.9 and last week to 131.9 when it had been 129.9 for some time. Tesco varies rapidly from location to location and Tesco Express in some instances are not Tesco Petrol providers, but Esso. (135.9). I use Fuel Genie as it does not need a login.
Tesco and Sainsbury’s Kidderminster are charging £140 for unleaded rip-off merchants..
Have you noticed that the Esso on the franche road is the same price as Sainsbury’s. Gor some reason they have decided to become the most expensive in Kidderminster. Was nice seeing the price go down. I checked a fuel price app and chaddesley as cheaper by almost 8p so drove there.
Unleaded in Whitchurch is 122.9. That’s fair pricing.
She’ll at Derbys corner in Poole Dorset one of the expensive ones 1.499 diesel petrol not much cheaper av Tesco 1.459 and the cheapest at mo Asda a fraction of .002 cheaper not worth the drive .unless passing.
Spoke too soon! Now a Texaco station in Nesscliffe just off A5 near Shrewsbury is down to 118.9. Why are local supermarkets still 134.9 for unleaded?