Chamber calls on petrol retailers in Humber to stop profiteering on Gulf crisis and driving up local business costs

THE Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce is calling on petrol retailers around the Humber to stop profiteering from the crisis in the Middle East and driving up business costs.

Petrol and diesel prices have soared in the last few days putting unnecessary and unreasonable pressure on businesses which are already struggling to cope with the financial challenges in a difficult economic climate.

Drivers are now facing inflated prices in excess of £1.45 per litre for diesel in some instances, with unleaded fuel prices up to £1.38 on some forecourts. This is compared to £1.29 for diesel before the US and Israel attacked Iran last weekend.

The Chamber’s 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.

“While the war in the Middle East is shocking and may well drive up prices eventually, I don’t think they should be going up yet. While the oil price did spike last night, it has now dropped back again to $90 a barrel. Before the conflict started, it was $80 dollars a barrel. The Government met with the G7 yesterday to look at releasing some strategic reserves to keep fuel supplies stable if necessary, so the Chamber doesn’t think there’s any excuse to be hiking prices so steeply at this moment in time.

“If the conflict continues for any length of time, then prices may well have to increase if the cost of new fuel supplies goes up, but at the moment forecourt prices shouldn’t be at the levels we’re seeing in the Humber.

David added: “Energy prices have fallen sharply today after US President Trump said last night that the war in Iran would end “very soon”, allaying fears of lengthy disruption. Today we’ve seen stock markets also rebound and gas prices falling back, so the last thing we need is petrol retailers sparking another round of panic buying in response to rising forecourt prices.”