Panic buying at petrol stations sees some pumps running dry
As motorists panic buy at petrol stations over fears of rising fuel costs, some pumps are beginning to run dry.
Huge queues have been spotted at petrol stations across the UK after motorists were warned about rising fuel prices - and some pumps ran dry. Particularly long queues have been reported at Costco in Oldham, Greater Manchester, and at Tesco in South Queensferry, Scotland, which ran out of unleaded.
On Monday (March 3) drivers were warned to expect a rise in fuel prices because of the war in the Middle East. The AA said prices will “inevitably increase” while the RAC said the conflict has the “potential to push up pump prices” but “it’s not a certainty”.
A major impact of the escalating conflict in the Middle East is on the world’s oil and gas supplies. Oil supplies could be affected by the conflict after Iran reportedly warned tankers on the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route, that no ships would be allowed to pass through.
The Strait of Hormuz is used by tankers carrying about one fifth of the world’s oil supplies and seaborne gas. Furthermore, Qatar’s state-backed energy company QatarEnergy said it had halted production of liquified natural gas because of attacks on its facilities, sending global prices spiking.
The price of Brent crude oil soared by as much as 13% at the start of the week, rising above 82 US dollars a barrel, before paring back.
AA president Edmund King said much of the increase in oil prices since the start of the war was “being factored in by market traders” in advance. He predicted that petrol prices could return to levels last seen at the start of 2026, when a litre of petrol was an average of 135.7p, compared with as low as 131.9p last month.
Mr King said: “Obviously, some global oil distribution disruption will continue depending on the length of the conflict and issues in the Strait of Hormuz. Pump prices in the coming weeks will inevitably increase, possibly in the short term back up to where they were at the start of the year.”
He went on: “There is no need for drivers to break their refuelling routine. It takes time for cost increases to work their way through to the pump.”
RAC head of policy Simon Williams said: “While the conflict in the Middle East undoubtedly has the potential to push up pump prices in the UK, it’s not a certainty. The oil price would have to rise significantly and stay that way for some time to have a dramatic effect.”
He added that oil prices reaching 100 dollars per barrel would take petrol prices “nearer to 150p per litre, but it’s all too soon to know”.
Andrew Watson, director at pump price comparison service PetrolPrices, said: “Global events over the weekend have pushed wholesale fuel costs sharply higher, and that is likely to feed through to UK pump prices in the coming days. Motorists should expect gradual price rises across both petrol and diesel.”
Paul Barker, editor at magazine Auto Express, said the conflict is “likely to have a negative impact on oil prices in the short term”. He continued: “The longer-term effects will depend on whether and how things escalate, but it’s not unreasonable to expect fuel prices to rise.”
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Government is monitoring the situation closely. The UK benefits from strong and diverse security of energy supplies.
“The Energy Secretary (Ed Miliband) spoke to the executive director of the International Energy Agency (Dr Fatih Birol) over the weekend.”
The spokesman added: “There are currently no reported impacts to UK fuel supply. DESNZ (the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero) will continue to monitor UK fuel stocks and sales.”