The £10 gallon
Misery for motorists as prices rocket in just 24 hours
THE cost of diesel hit £10 a gallon in Scotland yesterday as prices leapt 8p in only 24 hours.
A petrol station at The Cluanie Inn in Glenmoriston, Inverness-shire, is selling diesel for £2.217 a litre, which works out at £10.07 a gallon.
The forecourt, on the main Skye to Inverness road, sells petrol for £2.087 a litre, which equates to £9.48 a gallon.
It comes as ministers have been told ‘enough is enough’ after the average cost of filling a family car with petrol surged past £100 for the first time.
The AA said a 10p fuel duty cut was needed because rocketing pump prices were ‘crippling’ hard-pressed motorists, many of whom rely on their vehicles to make ends meet.
Average petrol prices hit 182.31p a litre on Wednesday, up from 180.73p the day before. It means filling a typical 55-litre tank now costs £100.27.
Filling up with diesel costs £103.43 after the average cost of a litre jumped from 186.57p to 188.05p. Diesel surpassed the £100-a-tank milestone last week for the first time.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak cut fuel duty by 5p a litre in March but it has been wiped out by surging prices. The RAC said the gesture now looked ‘paltry’ due to wholesale petrol costs surging by five times that amount (25p) since the cut was announced, with retailers passing this on.
Rising wholesale costs, driven by surging oil prices, are causing most of the increase at the pumps.
There are also fears some retailers are not passing on the fuel duty cut to drivers in full, with the Government threatening to ‘name and shame’ those who don’t.
But the Treasury is receiving more in fuel taxes than it was this time last year despite the cut, due to a surge in VAT receipts.
Analysis by the RAC shows drivers are paying £45.69 in tax for every tank of petrol, compared to £43.80 this time last year. This is because fuel duty is charged per litre, so the amount the Government receives does not increase as prices soar.
But VAT is charged at 20 per cent on the total cost of a litre of fuel, so the Treasury takes more when pump prices rise.
The Cluanie Inn said its fuel prices are based on its remote location, the cost of transporting fuel to the site and the fact it relies on a diesel generator to power the pumps and point-of-sale machine on a 24/7 basis.
AA president Edmund King said: ‘Enough is enough. The Government must act urgently to reduce record fuel prices crippling the lives of those on lower incomes, rural areas and businesses.’
The UK Government said it has protected the most vulnerable families through payments of £1,200 and support for pensioners and those on disability benefits.