Fuel Prices - Oil prices have fallen 17% since April this year - So why aren't fuel prices falling in line?

The cost of crude oil per barrel is around 17 per cent below its peak of $124 back in April - yet prices on British forecourts in the main have continued to hold out at their highest price. Petrol retailers say a rise in the dollar against the pound has made it difficult to make price cuts but analysis show that while oil prices have fallen by nearly a fifth since late April, the dollar has risen only 6 per cent and this begged to question the industry. It was defended that the sustained high prices this year are largely to do with 'dysfunctional elements', which mean that 'trends in the crude oil price don’t appear to run parallel with the wholesale price.'

The question was put as to why prices haven’t fallen at the forecourt when the cost of a barrel of Brent crude has fallen 17%? At the time of writing, prices were around the $105 mark but were $124 a barrel in late April, the highest price since summer 2008. The price of a litre of petrol in early May soared to 137.43p and 143.04p for diesel, yet despite this drop of over $20 a barrel, the poor old motorist has suffered the difference. All this means the oil companies continue to see profits soar at the expense of our pocket – maybe it’s time for more pressures to be put on the lobbying parties to demand more?

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Added: 03 November 2011

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