Petrol prices up to over 158p at the pump

The 'Trump tax' you now pay on fuel could go even higher in weeks to come, especially as we are now playing real-life Battleships in the Gulf. Drivers should brace for things potentially getting a lot worse.

Three months ago we were gazing into the future thinking prices would never reach £2 per litre, now we are seeing it regularly on motorway service stations. Its now a question of when average prices will reach this level as Donald Trump's war in the middle east rages on with no end in sight and no plan coming from the White House. The level of lunacy from the States, filtering it's way into higher inflation in the UK and Europe, will leave a bad taste in the mouth of US one time allies that will need much repair by the next administration. More immediately, Trump will want to consider inviting some adults into the room, or at least allowing his European partners to take over negotiations to conclude this bloody conflict that is inflicting not just human pain on the people of the middle east but economic pain on the West too.

A ceasefire in Iran was never going to bring prices down overnight. What matters to the fuel market isn't just the fighting stopping it's whether oil can actually flow freely and reliably again. Right now, traders still aren't convinced. Oil markets price in risk long before events resolve, and they only give back those gains once trust in supply is fully restored which takes time. Global oil demand has stayed stubbornly high, particularly from Asia, and OPEC has shown little appetite to open the taps. Sterling's recent weakness against the dollar is making things worse. Because oil is priced in dollars globally, a softer pound means UK drivers pay more in pence even when the underlying barrel price hasn't moved much. Until the currency picture stabilises, that headwind isn't going away. This is a good moment for drivers to honestly assess how much of their driving is essential.

With oil tankers still snarled up in the straits of Hormuz and no end in sight to steadying of supply, the price of a barrel oil is expected to stay high. This is the time the pseudonym for oil - 'Black Gold' is very apt.

The public are getting pumped.
It’s deplorable that the government are not stepping in to ease the burden people face.
Yes, Trump started the war in Iran. But that’s not the sole reason you are paying more to fill the car. It’s this governments inaction.
There are temporary Tax and Levy reductions that countries all around the world are putting in place so their hard working civilians aren’t hit so hard in the pocket, but not here, not in Britain. They have the ability to help people, but aren’t. Meanwhile they are reportedly making upwards of £25m a day in tax during this energy and fuel crisis. It’s a scandal in the making.